The One That Got Away
by DeeSisa
Summary: Quinn is forced to return to Ohio for a close friend's wedding only to find herself back where she had left off and the man that got away. A Fabrevans fic with a little of Puckleberry thrown in the mix.
1. Chapter 1

It has been a while since I published another fanfic. Please bear with me as I write these chapters as quickly as I can. I can't really guarantee that I'll update immediately but I will sure try to. Did that make sense? Probably not.

As mentioned on the summary, Puckleberry is on in this fic. So you have all been warned. Also, like all my fanfics, this one is a Fabrevans fic.

Enjoy!

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><p>Quinn Fabray did not intend on returning to Ohio years after she had graduated high school and left all the drama that came along with it. She now had a steady job in New York as a consultant and enjoyed the social life that came with it. She always had an affinity for traveling and her job gave her that opportunity. But when Rachel Berry called to let her know that she was to be married to Noah Puckerman in 2 weeks' time, she had no choice but to return to the place she dreaded the most.<p>

She had left a lot of people in Lima. After graduation, Quinn told her mother that she had accepted her offer at NYU. With that came the reality that she could not possibly raise her child, Beth, and had accepted that Shelby - the woman who adopted Beth - deserved the child more. However, she requested to stay in contact with Shelby in order to continue a relationship with her daughter - even if it meant that she was "Aunt Quinn" to her very own daughter. Then there was Sam Evans - the one that got away.

After she gave birth to Beth, Quinn vowed to put her life back together and to be on top of the school's social ladder. She was, once again, accepted in almost all social circles in school including Glee Club and the Cheerios. She was also passing all of her courses with flying colours. Then came Sam Evans. His world revolved around her and her world felt more complete and at peace with him in it.

Sure, she considered Sam a pawn to help her become popular in the beginning since he was the football team's quarterback. But, much to her surprise, she was quite delighted with Sam's small quirks. Though he appeared to be tough, Sam was sensitive, goofy, caring and loving. He had his own insecurities and this made it quite easy for Quinn to relate to him on a personal level. She never smiled quite as much as she did when she was with Sam. Though she's capable of taking care of herself (which she made Sam fully aware of), it was nice to know that someone was willing to try catering to her every need anyway.

Then, almost in an instant, she made the biggest mistake of her life and cheated on him with Finn Hudson. In turn, he opted out of the relationship and they separated ways since but remained friends (though it was painful for Quinn to do so).

After they broke up, Sam had disclosed that his family was going through a financial crisis. The business that his father was in had gone bankrupt, which then forced the Evan's family out of their comfortable lifestyle. They lived in a motel and, in a state of need and panic, Sam had asked Quinn to help him with his siblings while Kurt lent him clothes to wear to school.

It was a difficult time indeed but Sam did not seem to be fazed by it one bit. A trait that Quinn respected and loved about him more - though she decided not to express such feelings to him. They had their time and that was that.

She had not heard from him since then. The last time they saw one another was when he left to return to Tennessee with his family because his father was offered another job there. Since then, Sam was just "another boy" she dated in high school.

While she was in college, she was forced to go out on dates by her roommate and could not help but compare them to Sam. A lot of them were too immature and some took themselves too seriously. Quinn needed a balance of both and, in the back of her mind, Sam was just that.

"The one that got away, huh?" the old lady sitting beside Quinn on the airplane asked thoughtfully. She had almost forgotten that she was sharing personal experiences with a complete stranger. However, that was a daily occurrence with Quinn. She learned to be more personable as a consultant. Thus sharing stories with strangers on a plane.

"I guess, in a sense, he was the first man I ever loved."

"How about that Finn Hudson boy?"

"We fooled around more than anything. I never felt as if I was sincere regarding my feelings for him. He was a good boyfriend but he's was an even better friend."

The old lady nodded in agreement. "That happened to me once," she started, "I may be old now but I was a piece of work back then."

Quinn smiled at the old lady, "I wouldn't doubt that for a second."

"There was a boy who worked for my family once. He was so handsome. He helped around the house, fixing things and what-not. But, you see, his family was poor and I was set to marry a rich gentleman that my family were acquaintances with."

"So what happened?"

"He got away. Never saw him again. To this day, I still think about him."

"Really?" she asks the old lady in shock, "After all these years?"

"When you have someone that loves you more than they love their own life, you don't let that person go. You just don't."

Quinn sat quietly during the remainder of the flight. As she looked out to the clouds, she could not help but wonder where Sam was at that very moment and if he was thinking of her.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry it took a while for the 2nd chapter, guys. I made this chapter a long one to make up for it. Enjoy! :)

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><p><em>"Do you ever wonder what life's like outside Ohio?" she asked him with a serious tone to her voice. They had been laughing at his impersonations for hours, lying side by side on the Evans' living room carpet and it seemed to have turned into a more mature conversation after she posed her question to him.<em>

_ "Well… I'm from Tennessee and I moved to Ohio. So I can safely say that there are more cows out there. Does that count?" he said jokingly._

_ "No, no. I mean… After high school, where do you see yourself going?"_

_ "What's this about?" he asked her worriedly, "Is something wrong?"_

_ She let out a slight giggle. The concerned look on his face made her heart melt. She almost felt sorry for asking him in the first place. "Well, I was just wondering about what your hopes and dreams are for the future. That's all. I mean, I think it's about time that we start thinking about stuff like that, right?"_

_ "Oh I don't know. I sorta wanted to be a —- Never mind," he said, shaking his head._

_ Quinn sat up, looked back at Sam (who was still lying down on the carpet) and poked him on his side lightly. "Tell me!" she demanded, "You have to tell me everything. I'm your girlfriend!"_

_ "Alright, alright." Sam says with a laugh, "I wanted to be… a vet."_

_ "Wanted?"_

_ "Well… I don't know. It seems like a stupid idea now that I think about it."_

_ "It's not a stupid idea. I think you'd make a perfect vet. After all, you do love animals."_

_ "You think so?" he asked as he sat up to face Quinn. His face suddenly full of hope. He had always wanted to be a veterinarian since he was a child. Unfortunately, since Sam is dyslexic, his marks were lacking in certain subjects – especially the courses that counted in order for him to qualify for a spot in college. However, ever since Quinn had come into his life, he felt the need to work harder on his studies. She always excelled in school and he wanted to be someone she could be proud of. Not only as an equal in popularity (being that he is in the football team), but also as an equal intellectually. _

_ She gave him a reassuring nod but, suddenly, the smile slowly disappeared from her face as reality dawned on her. "Sam…" Quinn said while thinking out loud, "Where am I in this future of yours?"_

_ He smiled at her, held her hands tightly and looked right into her eyes. "You'll be right beside me of course."_

Quinn wanted to surprise Rachel that afternoon. She did not let her friend know that she was on her way to Ohio to take part in celebrating her wedding. Nor did she ask anyone to pick her up from the airport. This proved to be difficult for her due to the amount of luggage she was carrying with her. Nevertheless, she trotted through security and into a taxi cab with her luggage bags in hand. Determined to keep her return a secret for a few more hours.

_Everything__seems__to__look__the__same_, Quinn thought. It was as if she had never left in the first place. As she continued to look out, taking in and marveling at her surroundings, the taxi cab driver let out a slight smile and asked her, "Is it your first time here in Ohio, miss?"

She shook her head with a smile, "I'm from here actually. Just left for school and work. I'm visiting an old friend for the weekend since she's getting married tomorrow." The thought of Rachel marrying Puck was still a strange subject for Quinn. Puck is the father of her child, Beth, and Quinn tried to maintain a relationship with him after giving their child up for adoption. However, what makes things so strange for Quinn is the fact that Shelby is in fact Rachel's mother. In other words, Quinn's daughter's adoptive mother's older daugher is marrying her ex-boyfriend from high school. What a strange situation indeed. But, what disturbed Quinn the most was the fact that her friends were all getting married now. While, on the other hand, there she was still single and unattached.

As the taxi cab came to a stop in front of the Berry's house, she took a deep breath in before opening the passenger door. She was, in a sense, re-entering the life she left behind for New York. After being away for so many years, what will their reaction be like when they finally see what she's become? Will it be the same or different? Will it be awkward around Rachel and Puck? Finn? What about Sam?

"Quinn?" Puck shouted from across the yard. He ran towards her and gave her a tight hug. "Rachel didn't tell me you were coming. Last time you guys spoke on the phone she said you —-"

"I wanted to surprise you both," she said with a smile. Ignoring how awkward she was feeling after the hug he just gave her. "Where's Rachel?" Quinn asked him, "Is she inside?"

Puck nodded with a smile, "Here, let me carry your bags for you. They look really heavy." He had changed, Quinn noticed immediately. He was selfless, caring and soft-spoken. She always knew that Rachel would be the one to change him for the better. They were a more perfect fit for one another than she would have ever been with him.

Puck led Quinn to the house, opened the door and offered her to walk inside first. The house seemed empty from the lobby but she quickly heard chattering and laughter from the backyard. "They're out at the back. We're having a little picnic, barbeque type of thing. We didn't want to have a bridal shower or bachelor party if it meant being apart before our wedding." As they walked through the halls of the Berry household, Quinn took notice of some pictures hanging on the wall. One picture in particular caught her attention. It was a picture of the Glee Club during Sectionals – back when she was still with Sam.

"So, umm…" Quinn said with a little hesitation, "How's everyone? From Glee club I mean. Do you still keep in contact with them?"

"You can ask them yourself. The gang's all here!" Puck happily informed Quinn as he opened the screen door leading to the backyard.

The first to notice Quinn with Puck was Brittany. She was sitting with Santana who was holding a sleeping baby in her arms. "Oh my God it's Quinn! Look!" Brittany shouted out loud for everyone to hear. The noise level in the backyard died down and all eyes were on Quinn. She felt her face turn red from embarrassment. Puck excused himself from the group and made his way back inside with Quinn's luggage. Meanwhile, Brittany quickly made her way towards Quinn, gave her a hug and said, "Look at you! You look amazing!"

"Never mind me. Look at you!" she told Brittany with a smile.

"I have to introduce you to someone," Brittany said as she took Quinn's hand and pulled her towards Santana and the child in her arms.

Quinn gently stroked the baby's head and smiled at how precious the child was. "Is this your little one?" she asked Santana and Brittany.

"Yes," Santana told Quinn with a smile, "This is Flora and she's our baby."

"She's beautiful," she told Santana and Brittany. Just then, Quinn heard a scream from behind and was suddenly pushed forward by the tremendous force of the person's hold on her. This must be Rachel, Quinn told herself. And, just as she had guessed, it was in fact Rachel behind her with a shocked and elated look on her face.

"You made it! I can't believe you're here! Why didn't you tell us that you were coming? We could have picked you up!" Rachel told her all at once. The excitement of seeing her friend once again, after all these years, was too overwhelming for her. "You haven't gained a single freckle or weight on you. I'm jealous, Quinn."

Quinn laughed, "Neither have you, Rach. What are you talking about?" Her worries were slowly fading away. It really did feel like she had never left Ohio. Everyone was welcoming her with open arms. She's finally come back home and it felt amazing. "Is everyone here? I asked Puck and he didn't really tell me anything."

"Well, some of them are actually at the basement. We just came out here to have some air. Blaine's here with Kurt. Tina's here but Mike couldn't make it because he's working today. Oh and Artie's here! And Mercedes is here with her new boyfriend, Wes." she informs Quinn, "Who else? Mr. Schue is here with Ms. Philsbury or should I say Mrs. Schue. So everybody's here!"

"H-how about… how about Sam?" Quinn asked Rachel nervously. The smile on Rachel's face slowly disappearing. "L-Last time you told me that he came back to Ohio when I left… right? Is he still in Ohio?"

"Well.. yeah. He's around," Rachel said matter of factly, "I invited him today but —- Oh never mind. Don't worry about it. But, to answer your question, he's here in Ohio."

Quinn knew that Rachel was hiding something from her. As if she didn't want to hurt her feelings. But she wanted answers. "C'mon, Rachel," Quinn pressed on, "Tell me. You invited him but what?"

"I…" she said while looking at Santana and Brittany for some help to find the right words, "I told him that you might come… and then he said that he couldn't make it."

"Oh…" muttered Quinn, feeling defeated.

"But, I mean… that could mean something totally different. He's probably working today. Like Mike. He's usually working a lot nowadays. He rarely has any time to meet up with us for our monthy dinners. So don't take any offense."

Regardless of Rachel's poor explanation, Quinn knew that Sam was avoiding her. Though they were in good terms when he left for Tenneesee, she decided to cut all ties with him and continued on with her life without any contact with him. It was obvious that he had done the same. No harm, no foul.

_It__was__for__the__best_, Quinn thought. She's here to watch and support her friends' wedding. What else did she expect to happen during this weekend? Quinn told herself that she would only be here for two days and then fly back to New York immediately. There was no need to open old memories if it meant someone was going to get hurt or left behind in the process. Even if Sam's absence that day had already hurt her more than she could possibly bare.

Since Judy, Quinn's mother, had moved to Florida when she found a job in New York, Quinn had planned on staying at a nearby hotel for the weekend. However, Rachel refused to let her stay in a hotel by herself while she was in Ohio. Arguing that it would be a waste of money and time in terms of traveling to and from places. Thus, Quinn was the Berry's 'special guest' as Rachel so delicately worded it.

Once the guests from the party had left that night, Rachel decided to take the opportunity to speak to Quinn privately. Quinn was finally settled in the guest room when Rachel walked in with two cups of soy milk. She offered one cup to Quinn and said, "My dads always gave me soy milk whenever they wanted to speak to me about something important. Calms the nerves apparently. Which I whole-heartedly agree with."

"Must mean that we're talking about something serious then," Quinn said with a slight chuckle.

"Well… it's about Sam," Rachel started, "I know you're probably wondering about him."

"Not really," Quinn fibbed, "I mean… I thought that he would show up today. Since… he's friends with you and all."

Rachel knew better. She knew that her friend loved Sam with all her heart and, the moment that she had to let him go, was the hardest moment in her life. "Whatever you say," Rachel said with a smile, "But I'm sure you have some questions. And I have the answers."

It's funny how life works, Quinn thought immediately. There was a time back in high school when Quinn could not bare being in the same room as Rachel because of Finn, then Puck and then Finn once again. Now, years later, they were the best of friends. "Alright," Quinn said with a sigh, "Why did he come back here?"

"Okay, well, that… you have to ask him," Rachel said quickly.

"But you said —-"

"Trust me. You have to ask him that yourself."

"He doesn't even want to talk to me."

"You don't know that."

"Fair enough," Quinn said, giving up before an argument ensued.

"Anyway, I have a small request to ask of you, Quinn," she told her friend with starlit eyes.

Quinn laughed, "Oh I knew you were here to ask me for a favour! I knew it!"

"It's not… a big deal! You can say no. Although, mind you, I would be so devastated if you were to reject my small request. I —-"

"Alright, alright." Quinn said in a slightly irritated tone, "What is it?"

"Will you…" Rachel said with a pause in order to gather up suspense, "Be my maid of honour?"

"No way! I'm not prepared for that, Rachel," she told her with a mortified look on her face.

"Listen, I've already written out a speech for you to say at the reception so there's no need for you to worry about that. All you have to do is stand and sit on command and look pretty. And speak for a bit. That's all!"

"You make it sound so easy."

"Why? Are you conscious of doing this because Sam might see you there and fall in love with you again?" Rachel said teasing Quinn.

Quinn looked at Rachel in shock and surprise. What _if_ Sam was there?


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, guys! All my thoughts are coming in clear in regards to this story. So I'm jotting them down as fast as I can and updating :)

Anyway, enjoy! The 4th chapter will also be out by tonight or tomorrow evening at the earliest.

Thank you for all of your great comments. I do read them and I literally have a smile on my face at how nice you all are lol. I'm also glad that you're enjoying the Quinn/ Rachel friendship :D

_HAPPY READING!_

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><p>The very next day, Tina, Mercedes, Santana and Brittany had come in early that morning to help around the house to prepare for the backyard wedding. Clothes covered almost every inch of Rachel's bedroom floor (Rachel was preparing in her dads' bedroom), curling irons were plugged in on every outlet imaginable and girly chatter and laughter filled the room.<p>

"So what's life in New York like as a consultant, Q?" Tina asked out of curiosity. "Does it still have that magical feeling like when we visited during Regionals?"

Quinn considered Tina's question. Since her life had been a whirlwind as a student and as an employed consultant, she hasn't had the time to take in the environment around her. "Honestly, I'm so busy all the time that it doesn't even feel like I'm in New York exactly. I mean, I am in New York but... I can't really explain it," she said with a nervous laugh, "Once I graduated from school, I was offered my job and, since then, I haven't had a lot of time to myself. There's always people to meet, paper work to -"

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and before anyone could stand up to open it, the door swung open by a person who was carrying piles of boxes on top of one another – making it hard to recognize who was behind them. "Where do I put these boxes, Rach?" the man said with a deep, slightly Southern accent, "They're really heavy."

The room fell quiet as Tina, Mercedes, Santana and Brittany looked at Quinn with shocked looks on their faces. They knew who it was and so did Quinn. In an attempt to break the silence, Quinn cleared her throat immediately and collected all the courage inside of her. "Sam?" she said in a slightly nervous and quiet tone. She was slightly surprised at how quickly her confidence had been thrown out of the window. The sound of his voice had completely created butterflies in her stomach.

"Oh God," Mercedes said in a slight panic, "Alright. Disperse, ladies. Disperse!" All of the girls, except Quinn, gathered their things quickly, ran inside Rachel's bedroom bathroom and had shut the door behind them.

_ She didn't expect her first letter in her New York apartment to be from Sam. It was difficult for her to see him leave Ohio when he had to and it was twice as difficult to ignore the letter that he had sent her. Quinn told herself before moving to New York that, if she were to truly start anew, she had to cut all ties with her past. She needed time for herself in order to reflect on her life thus far. If she were to find love and a lasting relationship, she needed to find who she truly was and to love herself unconditionally. And she did just that. She wrote no letter back to Sam and he never wrote to her again. _

_ However, from time to time, whenever she missed Ohio or thought of Sam, she would read the letter to herself after work for some God-forsaken reason. _

_ "Dear Lucy Quinn Fabray," the letter read, "How are you settling in to your new life in the big city? I hope you're doing well – eating and getting proper sleep. I heard living in a dorm usually means being invited to all the parties. So don't party too hard... without me (haha). But, joking aside, I really do hope that you're okay."_

_ "I decided to write to you because you were in such a hurry that day when I told you that I was moving back to Tennessee. You also looked very upset and I just wanted to make sure that we're not in bad terms. Whenever you need someone to talk to, I'm just a phone call away. Or, if you need to vent and write things down, you can address them all to me too! Write to me and I'll write back to you! Don't ever feel like I'm a stranger to you just because we're not together anymore. I'm still your friend, aren't I?"_

_ "I know we'll see each other again soon. And, for our sake, I hope it's really soon. You mean a lot to me, Quinn, and I just don't want to lose you in my life. We can make our friendship work even though we're miles away! I know we can! Love always, Sam Evans. P.S. I hope you're not upset that I called you 'Lucy'. I know that that's a part of your past that you don't want to revisit. But the name suits you so well, don't you think?"_

Quinn stood quietly and perfectly still. All the while, Sam continued to stand by the door with the boxes still in hand, covering his face. She didn't quite understand what she was feeling at that very moment. Clearly, she did not prepare herself enough for it. As she walked closer to Sam, he slowly lowered the boxes and placed them on the floor. When he stood up, and his eyes met her's, her heart skipped a beat.

"Good... morning," Sam started, "Quinn." The sound of his voice uttering her name after so long felt foreign to her. There was also a stern tone to his voice, which perfectly matched the way he looked. His once blonde hair had turned brown in colour and was cut shorter than how he normally had it in high school. Sam also had a stubble growing on his chin, which made him look older. Time definitely changed Sam Evans and Quinn wasn't so sure if he's still the man that she fell in love with years ago. Nevertheless, she still found him easy on the eyes regardless of the somewhat bitter look he seemed to be emitting.

"Good morning," Quinn said with a little hesitation. Nervousness was making it difficult for her to speak to him in a calm manner. The intensity in the way he looked at her made it impossible for Quinn to focus and reiterate her thoughts. It's also as if they had totally forgotten that the girls were in the bathroom a few feet away from them.

"So... Umm... I thought you were in New York," Sam stated, "They let you off work?"

"Well... I took some time off," she said with a nervous laugh, "You know, I'm not a prisoner of my job." Sam nodded in agreement but made no verbal reply. Instead, he took the liberty of walking towards Quinn slowly. His eyes were fixed on her eyes and, when he had reached an uncomfortable distance from her, he looked down at Quinn's feet and made his way back up to her eyes again.

The intensity in the way Sam looked at Quinn made her feel uncomfortable. It was as if he was undressing her with his eyes. Her confidence was lacking. "S-Sam..." she said nervously, "W-What are you doing?"

"Am I making you feel strange?" he asked her.

"To be honest with you, yes. Please move back." she ordered.

"Okay," he said as he took wide steps back until he had reached the doorstep again. "How about now? Still feel strange?" he asked her. There's a slight smug look on his face that she did not quite understand. Whatever he was doing, it was working. He was completely toying with her emotions.

_Is__this__a__game?_Quinn thought. She knew that she had to hide her fear and nervousness from him. "Better," she forced herself to say.

"Same old Quinn." he said with a smile - the first since the beginning of their rather awkward conversation. Before Quinn could utter another word, Sam had carried the boxes he was holding and had left the room completely.

Quinn stood dumbfounded, trying to piece together what had just happened. All the while, the girls came out of the bathroom slowly and circled around Quinn. "What the hell was that?" Santana shouted out loud.

"Shh!" Mercedes interrupted, "He might still be around."

"Are you okay, Quinn?" Tina said noticing that Quinn's complexion had gone pale.

"I... I don't know," she finally answered, "He just made me feel really uncomfortable."

"We can beat him up for you," Santana offered.

"Oh no! No, no. There's no need," Quinn quickly responded.

Brittany quickly hooked her arm around Santana's left arm in hopes of calming her down. "Stop the violence," she told Santana in a sing-song voice, which in turn made Santana smile.

"You know... you don't have to stay for the wedding if he's making you feel uncomfortable, Q," Tina suggested.

"No. I'm staying. If I leave, Rachel will never let me live it down. Plus, I need to talk to him," Quinn stated, "We have to talk before I go back to New York. Patch things up."

The wedding procession was a traditional Jewish ceremony. Puck and Rachel's relatives and close friends were all in attendance. The weather was on their side that morning. The sun was out but the heat that it omitted delicately touched their skin. The breeze from the trees were soothing and the flowers surrounding the guests and the couple were breathtakingly beautiful. It was like a wedding out of a romantic movie.

The reception did not start until 6 in the evening. More guests had arrived and the backyard was almost packed with people. Since the sun was setting, the lights were lit but did not shine bright enough for the whole yard to be seen. It was dim. Quinn, who naturally began to socialize with the other guests, suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned to find Sam standing before her.

Since she had been so busy during the wedding ceremony, Quinn did not see Sam among the crowd earlier that day. Unlike the casual clothing he was wearing that morning, he was wearing a black suit that fit him like a glove. He looked distinguished and the scruff had disappeared.

"Santana told me that you wanted to talk to me," Sam said, interrupting whatever thought Quinn had in her head. In panic, she quickly scanned the room and, rest assure, Santana was standing a few feet away from them giving Quinn a thumbs up while Brittany poked her at her side.

"Umm... maybe we should go somewhere more... quiet?" she suggested. Sam led the way and brought Quinn at the side of the Berry house that led to the driveway.

He looked at her with the same stern expression as he did that morning. "So what was it that you wanted to talk about?" he asked immediately, almost as if he were irritated with her.

"Look, we don't have to talk if you don't want to," she told him, offended by his words. Quinn took it upon herself to walk away, but, was quickly taken back by Sam. He was holding her arm in a rather gentle but firm manner and did not let go.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I'm being an ass. But the girls said that you have something to tell me. So, Q, just tell me!" he said with a little more urgency.

Quinn slowly shrugged to release her arm from Sam's hold. She took a deep breath in and exhaled. "I know you're upset with me."

"With what? The fact that you didn't write back to me?" his words full of hurt.

"That wasn't the way I wanted to end things with us."

"End things? Why? All I wanted was for us to be friends, Quinn. That's all. And, clearly, you freaked out and decided to ignore me."

"I wasn't... ignoring you! I needed time."

"For what?"

"To find myself. To figure out where the hell my life was going. You of all people should know that I wasn't in the best form. You knew that! Even before we started going out."

"So have you?"

"Have I what?"

"Have you found yourself?"

She was taken aback. Like she had told many before, she had been so busy with her job in New York that she hasn't had the time to take a breather. "I..." she started, "I don't know."

Sam nodded, feeling defeated once again. "So I'll leave you to it then. I'll see you in, what? A couple more years, right? So you can go find yourself? Because clearly even being friends with you isn't an option anymore."

"That's not fair!" she said in anger, "I'm not the one who left first!"

"I had no choice but to leave! My family needed me!"

"So why are you leaving me again now? Why are you walking away from me?"

"To give you space!"

"I don't need any more space, Sam, because I've come to realize that I need you!" Quinn said all at once. Tears had started to form around Quinn's eyes. She could not believe what she had just blurted out loud and neither could Sam. It had just dawned on her that what she had been searching for was the one that was in front of him years ago. The one who understood and accepted her for who she was – imperfections and all. And there he was, standing before her once again. He stood in silence and shock. "C'mon... say something," she urged him.

"I..." he said, catching his breath, "I can't - It's too late, Quinn."

"What are you talking about?" she asked him in confusion.

"I'm engaged."


	4. Chapter 4

Did you all see the new Glee episode with Chord/ Sam back? Oh my heart lol. I'm so happy right, you guys.

Once again, thank you all SO much for your lovely comments. They're greatly appreciated :D

Anyway, here's a new chapter to celebrate!

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><p>He knew that she was in shock. She didn't have to say any other word to him. A simple nod from Quinn sufficed and that was that. She walked away from him, quickly wiping the tears that were falling from her eyes, as he stood and watched his first love walk out of his life once again.<p>

"So? How did it go?" Mercedes asked in anticipation. All of the girls had circled Quinn after they had noticed that she had returned from her talk with Sam.

The emotions trapped inside her chest was unbearable. She could barely speak and, before she could stop herself, she began to sob in front of her friends. "What happened?" Tina asked worriedly.

"H-he's engaged," Quinn told them quickly, hoping that saying it rapidly would suppress the pain.

"What?" Santana said in surprise, "Since when?"

"Oh... So maybe that's what he was trying to tell me the other day," Brittany said in a hushed tone.

"What? What did he tell you?" Santana asked Brittany.

"Well," Brittany started, "I was out at the mall a week ago and I saw Sam there with this lady... And, yeah. I guess they're engaged. I thought he said that they were in danger. So I told them to go hide. I guess that's why they looked at me funny."

Mercedes shook her head in shame, "Santana, you best get your wife's ears checked, girl. That was just nuts." Before they knew it, Quinn had walked away from their conversation and headed inside the house.

She had never packed as quickly as she did at that very moment. It was as if someone had pressed fast forward and everything was happening at a rapid pace. Quinn knew that she had to get out before her past had completely sucked her back in. She thanked God that Sam did not bring his fiancé with him. She wouldn't know what she would have done then.

Before leaving, Quinn wrote an apology letter to Rachel and explained why she had to leave. She then left the party by walking out the front door and forced herself not to look back.

Once she had gone quite a long distance from the Berry's house - with both her luggages in hand - she began to pick up a quicker pace. Little did she know that she was running towards a ditch on the road. Upon impact, Quinn tripped and fell on the hard pavement. Her bags were thrown all over the street since they had opened on impact. She then began to feel a stinging sensation on both her knees. As she looked down, she found her knees badly scraped and blood began to spread on the black tights that she was wearing. She began to cry once again and felt completely hopeless. _You're__pathetic_, she told herself repeatedly.

Quinn never knew that she would react in such a way towards Sam's engagement. The only reason she could find was that, deep inside, she thought that Sam would choose her again and they would live the rest of their remaining lives together. But it seemed that she was a little too late.

"Miss?" a soft, worried voice behind Quinn suddenly said, "A-are you okay? You took a terribly huge fall just now. Do you need my help?"

She looked behind her to find a young blonde woman standing before her. The woman seemed to be similar to Quinn in age and had long wavy hair that passed her shoulders. Quinn nodded and wiped her tears away.

The woman asked Quinn to lean on her and, with all her might, she had helped Quinn stand. "That's my car over there," she said to Quinn, "I was on my way home, so, I'll take you there. Seems like you were in a rush to leave. There's nowhere to go this late at night. So you can stay at my place."

"No, there's no need," Quinn tried to reason with the young lady.

"I insist. I'm not going to let you travel all scraped up like that. You're not ready to travel anywhere."

The ride to the young lady's house wasn't too far. It was three blocks away from Rachel's and was a modest size.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name," Quinn said to the young lady.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said with a laugh, "My name's Alice. What's yours?"

"Quinn."

Alice opened the door to her house, still helping Quinn walk by letting Quinn lean on her. As they entered the house, she helped Quinn sit on a small couch and turned the living room lights on. "I'll be right back," she told her, "I'll go get my first-aid kit in the bathroom. Relax for a bit, alright?"

Quinn nodded. As Alice disappeared to the hallway, Quinn scanned the living room she was sitting in. The colours all around her reminded her of a Fall afternoon. It was warm, cozy and unbelievably tidy. _She__must__be__married_, Quinn thought to herself. Everything was arranged perfectly and there was not a single dirt to be seen.

When Alice returned, she had a first-aid kit in hand and the same warm smile she had on earlier. "How are you feeling?" she asked Quinn worriedly.

"It doesn't sting as much," she told Alice as Alice began to apply alcohol on her cut, "Ahh!"

"Yeah... that's why I asked," Alice said with a laugh.

"I didn't expect that, sorry," Quinn said with a nervous laugh, "Thank you, by the way. You're far too kind."

"Oh no problem. We don't get a lot of guests in our house and, when we do, it's usually a repair man. Sam's no good when it comes to broken fixtures or plumbing."

Quinn's heart began to beat quickly. _Did__she__just__say__'Sam'?_"I... I'm sorry," she said, "Sam?"

"My fiance," Alice said immediately, "Sam's my fiance."

Just then, both Quinn and Alice heard the entrance door open. There was nothing else Quinn wanted to do but bolt out of the house. If it weren't for her knees, she would have done just that. But, in the mean time, she had no other choice but to sit there and watch the train wreck unfold.

"I'm home," the deep, Southern voice said from the hall, "I would have come home earlier if -"

Once Sam entered the living room, the first person he saw was not Alice but Quinn. Then he looked at Alice in shock. He could not believe his eyes at the image that was in front of him. "Hey, babe," Alice said to Sam as she approached him. She gave him a small kiss on the lips, took his hand and pulled him closer to Quinn. "This is Quinn. I found her a couple of blocks down. She was hurt so I thought that I would help her. Also, she was leaving town so I told her that she could stay here until tomorrow morning."

Quinn looked away from Sam and focused all of her attention on the carpeted floor below her. Sam, on the other hand, had the same mortified look he had when he came in, while Alice stood in between them still oblivious to what was going on. "So..." Sam finally forced himself to say, "She's... staying here... for the night?"

"I know, I know. I know you hate having guests around but Quinn is different. She's really nice and don't you feel sorry for her? I mean, look at her cuts!" Alice reasoned with her fiance.

Sam looked at Quinn's knees and, as if she felt his eyes on her, she moved slightly to cover her legs. "How did that happen... Quinn?" he asked her. He did not want Alice to know that he knew Quinn. If he knew Alice, she would ask him questions about how he knows of Quinn and that was a conversation that he was not ready to face as of yet.

Quinn looked at Sam, the first since he had arrived at the house, with slightly teary eyes. "I was running away," she told Sam. She tried as hard as she could not to shout at Sam. If he was pretending that he didn't know her, she could play the same game with him. "You see there was this man... who I thought loved me... and I told him how I felt about him... and, in turn, he told me that he was in love with someone else."

He looked at her in shock and guilt. "He must be kicking himself right now for losing someone like you," he said with the most calm voice he could muster.

"I sure do hope so," Quinn finally said, darting her eyes at him.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello there :) _

_This is pretty much a filler/ background info chapter. As I am posting this right now, I am also typing up the 6th chapter! So I'll probably post the 6th chapter soon!_

_Thank you again for all of your comments and to those of you who are adding this little story of mine to your "favourites" list or story alert._

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><p>Fortunately for Quinn, Sam and Alice's home had a guest room, which Alice had indicated to be a room they were saving up for their children (if they happen to have any in the future). It was small but quaint in its own way. Just like the living room, it was tidy and has been kept clean regardless of the fact that no one has ever stayed in it until now.<p>

As she was about to fall asleep, Quinn suddenly heard footsteps from the hall. Just then, she heard shuffling noises right outside the guest room and knew that it must be Sam. A part of her knew that he probably wanted her out of the house. But a majority of her thoughts lingered at the possibility that, if he entered the room, she would have no choice but to slap his face out of anger. However, rather than entering the room, Sam's shadow that loomed at the crack of the doorstep had disappeared.

She sat up on her bed and wondered what changed his mind. Though she did not necessarily know what had gotten into her to make her walk over to the door, she did as her mind had told her and hoped that she would still catch him in the hallway to confront him. But, before she could open the door, it swung open gently and there stood Sam right in front of her with a confused expression on his face. "W-what.. were you doing?" he asked her nervously.

"Don't think that I didn't notice you pacing around just now," she told him bluntly, "What do you want?"

"I should ask you the same question," Sam snapped back, "And how did you find Alice?"

Quinn let out a laugh, "What are you trying to say? That I'm planning on doing something to ruin your relationship with Alice? In your dreams, Evans." She quickly turned her back on him and made her way back to her bed. Sam followed suit as Quinn tucked herself back in her bed. He watched as she pretended to close her eyes and finally decided to sit at the foot of her bed. Feeling the weight at the foot of her bed, Quinn opened her eyes and found Sam sitting in front of her with a solemn look on his face.

"So, what? Were you really planning on leaving tonight?" Sam asked with a more gentle tone – different from the tone he had used earlier on, "Why?"

She tried not to look into Sam's eyes – knowing very well that he would read her thoughts like a book. Thus, instead of lying to him, Quinn took a deep breath in as she said, "I... I don't know. I thought that we could still -"

"Be together?" he interrupted. Quinn nodded; surprised at the fact that he knew what she was going to say to him. "You know," Sam continued on, "I waited. Lord knows I did. That's mainly the reason why I came back to Ohio. Because I thought you would come back after graduation from NYU and we could work things out. Then, all of a sudden, we get news that you were staying in New York. And then... then Alice came along and she's - never mind." He knew that he was giving her too much information.

"Too late. That sounded like you wanted to say something else. You have to tell me now," she insisted, "Spill it."

Sam let out a burdened sigh. _Even__after__all__these__years_, he thought, _she__can__still__talk__me__into__saying__what's__on__my__mind_. "She reminded me of you," he revealed to her.

_ So__that's__it?_ Quinn asked herself, _He__replaced__me__with__a__clone?_

Alice did carry many of the features Quinn once had when she was still with Sam back in high school. Alice had long blonde hair, effervescent eyes, a bright smile and a charming personality. Thankfully, Quinn had long since changed the way she looked. In college, she felt the need to change her appearance due to the amount of boys who continuously thought that she was "easy". As a last resort, Quinn had her hair cut short and wore a stern look on her face most of the time. An attitude even she wasn't very comfortable with.

"But, don't get me wrong," he said, interrupting her thoughts, "Once we started going out, I slowly discovered that Alice was more than that."

"Right," she said, trying not to look visibly hurt. "That's great though," she lied, "You've found someone to spend the rest of your life with." Quinn looked down at her sheets and began to fiddle with it. To think that he had promised 'forever' to her and, yet, there they were, years later, with nothing to show for it. They were now strangers in a way. He had moved on and wanted to create a life with Alice – a life Quinn desperately wanted to have with him.

Sam spent the rest of the night talking to Quinn about what he had been up to since returning to Ohio. He revealed to her that he had not gone to college since his family needed him to help support them financially. Instead, Sam settled for a job at Burt Hummel's repair shop as a mechanic. Thankfully, his hard work had paid off. His parents had escaped the confines of the recession since then and are now back on their feet.

"You should go back to school," Quinn suggested, "Then you can finally become a vet."

Sam let out a laugh – another first since their awkward conversation that morning. "Nah," he said with a chuckle, "Now that I'm about to get married, I need all the money I can get. Alice is a florist, but, that doesn't bring a lot of income. If we're going to have a family - Oh, man. I'm sorry. I must be boring you."

"No," she said shaking her head, "I quite enjoy you like this. It's refreshing. You're thinking ahead."

Sam let out a slight smile. Then she saw them. His eyes. He wasn't telling her the whole story - as if he were hiding something from her. However, since it was late in the evening already, she chose not to ask Sam what bothered him.

Quinn woke up that morning from the sun's rays seeping through the curtains of the room. She rubbed her eyes and stretched. It was a new day and it was another fresh start for her. She knew that her time in Ohio and with Sam was up. In order to let Sam and Alice be, she knew that she must leave and never return. Just then, Quinn heard a familiar voice speaking incoherently downstairs. The voice was that of a woman's and was clearly upset.

The bedroom door swung open and Rachel had stormed in with a frustrated look on her face with Sam immediately entering the room right behind her. "I'm supposed to be in my honeymoon and, instead, I drove all over the place last night and this morning looking for you," she said as if she was talking to a child.

"I-I'm sorry, Rach-"

"I'm not finished."

"Okay," Quinn said with a nod.

"I tried to keep her downstairs," Sam interrupted, "I swear."

"Shut it, Evans," Rachel told Sam, "Could you possibly leave us alone for a few minutes? Please?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a bow as he quickly left the room.

Quinn sat up and patted the empty space on the bed, signalling Rachel to sit beside her. With a deep and frustrated sigh, Rachel did as she was asked to do and sat beside her. "I'm really mad at you, you know," she told Quinn, "I needed my best friend on my special day and, what does she do? She leaves the reception with a vague letter that I couldn't even start to comprehend."

Quinn wrapped her arm around Rachel and held her close. "I'm so, so, so, so sorry, okay? I was... lost," she started. "I wasn't thinking right. I should have told you that I was leaving. That would have been the adult thing of me to do."

"So they live together? In this house? Just the two of them?

Quinn nodded.

"Why didn't he tell any of us about it though? I mean, we didn't even know that he was going out with Alice."

"Alice seems like the shy type," Quinn explained, "She's really nice."

Rachel let out a slight smirk. "I'm surprised you didn't at least fight for him."

"It's too late, Rachel. Anyway, I'm glad that he's moved on. I was actually worried that he didn't."

Rachel exhaled and looked at her friend. She quickly noticed that Quinn was unhappy and was, in fact, in pain. "It must be hard... to see that the man you love is with someone else and not you," she told her, "I mean, I should know. You were with Finn back then and I was so jealous of what the two of you had."

"And look where that's gotten you," Quinn told her friend, "He left and broke your heart."

"Because Finn still loved you. No matter how many times he told me that I was the one for him, it was you that he wanted."

_ It was as if it had only happened yesterday. Before she left for New York, Judy had invited all of Quinn's friends for a farewell party. And, while everyone else was enjoying themselves, Finn took the liberty to speak to Quinn alone._

_ They stood at the poorly lit yard at the back of the Fabray's house. She felt uncomfortable being alone with him and so she kept a safe distance away from Finn._

_ "You can't leave," he said with a slurred voice, "I'll miss you... sooooo much."_

_ "Finn, you're drunk... Let's talk when you're sober, okay?"_

_ "No, no. This can't wait. We have to talk now," he took a deep breath in and exhaled, "I still love you, Quinn."_

_ "Okay, now I really know that you're drunk" Quinn said as she tried to walk away from Finn. _

_ However, Finn refused to back down. He quickly grabbed hold of Quinn's arm with a lot more strength than one should. He was visibly upset and she knew that their conversation was not going to end well. "Finn," she started to say, mustering up all the courage inside of her, "You need to let go of my arm or I, swear to you, I will scream for help." _

_ Realizing what he was about to do, Finn releases his hold of Quinn and backs away from her. "You're with Rachel," she stated, "Or did you suddenly forget that you have a girlfriend waiting inside there?"_

_ "But... I don't love her," he said with a pleading voice, "I thought I did and that's why I broke up with you. But I love you, Quinn. It's always been you." Finn suddenly tried to take another shot at holding Quinn and, before he could, she had pushed him to the ground and quickly ran away from him, leaving him outside._

_ When Quinn entered the house and in to the kitchen, visibly shaken from what had just happened, Rachel approached her with a worried look on her face. "Quinn, I've been looking all over for you!" she tells her friend, "W-what happened? Are you okay? You don't look too good."_

_ She shakes her head and tells her that she was fine._

_ Finn enters the house, stumbling and trying to catch his balance. He finds the two ladies, Rachel and Quinn, standing before him. "R-Rachel," he says with a startled voice._

_ "Hey," she says as she approaches Finn, "I've been looking for you too. Where did you go? Why were you outside?"_

_ Finn desperately looked at Quinn, hoping that she would not tell Rachel what happened outside. "Uh..." he said nervously, "I was -"_

_ "He threw up outside," Quinn interrupted, "I saw him. I helped him out for a bit but I couldn't stomach it. So I came back inside and sorta left him out there."_

_ "Oh," Rachel said with disgusted look on her face, "You're not a very good drinker, Finn. I'll go see if Kurt can take you home now then."_

_ As Rachel walked out of the kitchen, Quinn approached Finn and slapped him on the face. "How dare you," she tells him, "How dare you think that you can cheat on Rachel with me? Have you learned anything from what I did to you before with Puck? Or do you remember the time when you talked me into cheating with you on Sam? I despise everything you stand for, Hudson. I really do. And my one and only wish is that Rachel wakes up and finally realizes what an asshole you are."_

_ "I-I'm so -"_

_ "Get out of my house!"_

Sam brought Rachel and Quinn to a nearby diner for breakfast. He had called Puck earlier to meet them there and were waiting for him to arrive. "So," Rachel said to break the ice, "what does this fiance of yours look like, Sam?"

"Well... she's... she's beautiful," Sam said with a laugh, "I don't really know how else to describe her. I mean, she's flawless and her eyes... man, her eyes are -"

He stopped himself completely and realized that Rachel was not the only person he was sharing this information with. At one point and time, he had fallen in love with Quinn's eyes as well. If he were being honest with himself, Quinn's eyes still had that effect on him. There's definitely no other woman in the planet whose eyes were as beautiful as Quinn's. "At least... that's one of the features that I look at first in a girl," he said, trying to save himself from what he had started.

Quinn sat quietly as Rachel and Sam continued to talk to one another. She wanted nothing more than to run away from their conversation. The topics changed like wildfire – from their current jobs to wedding preparations to creating a family. Many of the things that Quinn did not want to hear from Sam unless his future plans were for the two of them. Though she painfully accepted the fact that he was to marry another woman, she wasn't ready to hear him gush about his bride-to-be just yet. The wounds inside her heart were fresh and have yet to heal.

About 30 minutes later, Puck entered the diner, found where his friends and wife were seated and sat with them. "Sorry, I'm late," he said apologetically, "I got a call from a friend right after Rachel left this morning and asked if I could pick him up at the airport."

Both Quinn and Rachel looked at one another in confusion. "What do you mean?" Rachel asked Puck, "Who did you pick up from the airport?"

"Finn."


	6. Chapter 6

_Hello :)_

_Here's the new chapter, you guys! It's not very long but, since I'm on vacation as of Thursday - free of work - I'll be sure to update before Christmas too!_

_Thank you for all of your comments as always. Enjoy!_

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><p>Quinn urged Sam to bring her back to his house immediately. Once they had arrived, the house was empty. Alice had left a note letting Sam know that she had gone out to run some errands. As soon as Sam met up with Quinn in the guest room, she had already started packing. "If I stay here, things will get really complicated. Not only between us, but, with myself and Finn," she explains to him. Unfortunately, there was nothing left for him to do but stand by as he watches her pack. A sad look upon his face loomed quickly, which Quinn took notice of. "What's wrong?" she asks him worriedly.<p>

"I don't know," Sam says with an embarrassed look on his face, "I thought you would stay longer. I mean... we're friends again, right?"

The word seemed foreign to Quinn. Never, in a million years, did she ever fathom the idea of Sam being her 'friend'. It was as if he had completely forgotten the relationship they had in the past. "I wish I could stay for the wedding," she said, lying through her teeth, "But things didn't end so well between Finn and I. I need to leave before he gets a hold of me."

The expression on his face quickly changed. "What did he do to you?" he asked her with a stern voice, "Did he hit you?". The friendly voice Quinn had grown accustomed to from the night before had changed again to the one that welcomed her back. A mature voice she had yet to feel comfortable around. He was visibly furious. "Q... what happened?" he urged.

"You haven't called me 'Q' in a long time," she recalls.

"Don't skip the subject."

"It was before I left. He was still with Rachel at the time... but he was drunk so he didn't know what he was doing."

"Don't sugar coat the story. What did he do to you?"

"Nothing! He just... he wanted me back and he tried to touch me. That's all."

"That's it!" he said angrily and stormed out of the guest room. Quinn, in a panic, hurriedly followed Sam down the stairs.

"Sam! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to beat the living shit out of him. That's what!"

"No, you're not!" she tells him, grabbing his arm with as much strength as she could. "Calm down," she pleads to him, "That was years ago!"

"I don't care! He has no right to do something like that to you! And what if he tries to do that again?"

"Well, that's none of your concern, Sam!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it's not because you're not my boyfriend!"

The look of frustration on Quinn's face broke Sam's heart. Needless to say, her words hurt more than it should. But she was right. He had no right to be angry. Nor did he have the right to go out on a rampage to get some sort of vengeance for what Finn had done to her. "Then it is best that you leave today," he tells her, trying hard not to look her in the eyes.

Sam was overwhelmed with feelings that he couldn't put together. As much as he told himself that Quinn was nothing but a friend now, any person in the world would feel the same way – you never really do get over your first love.

By the time Alice had returned from the grocery store, Sam was bringing down Quinn's luggage bags at the main hall where Quinn was waiting. Alice had a sad look on her face that puzzled both Sam and Quinn. "A-are you okay, Alice?" she asked her nervously.

"I don't know," Alice started, "I'm just sad that you're leaving."

"You've only known me for a day."

"Well, I don't have a lot of friends in Ohio. I'm from Jersey. All my friends are back home and my parents aren't heading here any time soon. Not until the wedding anyway. And, I don't know, I like you."

"You... like her?" Sam butted in, growing more confused as the conversation progressed between the two women in front of him.

_Oh__no_, Quinn thought. The last thing she wanted was to be her ex-boyfriend's fiance's best friend. "Well, y-you should go out more," she suggested to Alice.

"Sam rarely goes out. He's a home body," she said with a laugh, "Listen... I know that we just met, but, I want to ask you for a favour."

Sam's eyes grew in panic. He knew what Alice was going to ask of Quinn and he wanted nothing more than to rule against it. His thoughts flew all over his head as he tried to make up any sort of escape plan to veer Alice out of the topic. "Alice..." he finally manages to say out loud, attempting to distract her immediately.

"I want you to be my maid of honour," Alice tells Quinn.

"Y-you what?" Quinn says out loud in horror.

"Sam told me that you did really well at Rachel's wedding, so, I thought you could be my maid of honour too!"

The shocked and terrified look on Quinn's face had not disappeared. She tried to process the situation that has been dealt in front of her. Everything was happening so fast. Only in Lima would unfortunate events string along one after another. _Nothing __like __this __would __have __ever __happened __if __I__ had __stayed__ in __New__ York_, Quinn thought.

"Well... I-I thought that you could maybe introduce me to your friends here and, who knows? Maybe I won't be such a loner afterwards," Alice tells Quinn candidly.

Though she wanted to leave, Quinn could not help but feel sorry for Alice. She had been in the same predicament before. Although, years ago, she was a chubby, teenager with acne, braces on her teeth and went by the name of Lucy. Nevertheless, having no friends in a small town was hard and, as much as she did not like the idea of Sam marrying Alice, she was not about to leave this poor young lady without a friend (more or less a maid of honour as well).

Preparations for the wedding came in in lightning speed. Much to her surprise, Quinn didn't have to do much preparation herself besides her speech (which she had not finished yet). Though Sam and Alice had offered for Quinn to stay at their house, she had chosen to stay over at Puck and Rachel's new townhouse instead. She explained to them that Rachel would have a fit if she didn't stay with them while she was still in Lima. Much to both Sam and Quinn's relief, Alice agreed.

Though the news of Finn returning to Lima had been such a huge scare for Quinn, she had not bumped into him as of yet. The word around town was that Finn had returned to Lima to oversee the family business because of Burt Hummel's depleting health. Nevertheless, that was one less thing for Quinn to worry about. Little did she know of what was to happen next.

After about a month into preparations, Alice suddenly fell ill and was consulted by the doctor to stay in bed. It was, unfortunately, up to Quinn – as the maid of honour – to help Sam with what's left to do before the day of the wedding (which was set to happen in 3 weeks).

Sam called Quinn early on a Sunday morning to help him pick the menu for the wedding. Though she had been very helpful during Alice's absence thus far, there was something unsettling about having lunch with her ex-boyfriend who also happens to be the groom of the bride that she was to be the maid of honour for. Nevertheless, she agreed to meet him at the restaurant and now sat right in front of him.

It felt like a deja vu. Back in high school, Sam and Quinn won a dinner for two to Breadstix singing a duet in Glee club. That night had been their first date and the conversation they had during that very night was still fresh in both of their memories. Quinn could not help but laugh to herself at the thought of Sam's Matthew McConaughey impression. He took notice of her smile and grew curious. "What?" he said with a slight laugh.

"Just remembered something," she told him casually.

"I think I know what you're talking about."

"Oh do you?"

"Yes," he said with a laugh, "Our dinner at Breadstix?" She nodded with a bright smile on her face still in tact. He cleared his throat, slightly cracked up at the thought, pressed on with the best Matthew McConaughey voice he could muster and said,"So I was just down at the Dominican and -"

A loud roar of laughter erupted from Quinn. "Stop!" she told him immediately, "Not here. This place is distinguished, alright? You need to control yourself."

"Alright, alright," he said, trying hard not to laugh out loud. The smile from his face slowly disappeared as he looked at Quinn, realizing how much she had changed. "Look at you now," he continued on, gazing right at her. Somehow, he knew that he was going to regret what he was about to say next. "You still look as beautiful as you did then," he finally told her.

Quinn looked at him as her smile slowly faded. Her heart began to pound quickly as his eyes continued to look right at her. Somehow, she felt what he was feeling deep inside. It was happening again. He was falling in love with her once again and, much to her surprise, so was she.


	7. Chapter 7

_I was feeling quite inspired so I wrote a pretty long chapter for all of you. Also because I failed to update before Christmas like I said last time. So, hopefully, this makes up for it. _

_Thanks again for all of your wonderful reviews and suggestions. It really helps me write this story a lot faster. Also a big thanks for those of you who have been saving this story as a favourite!_

_May you all have a Happy (and safe) New Year! I'll make sure to post Chapter 8 after by January (at the latest) since I'll be off spending time with my family. Hope all of you are too!_

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><p>"After we're done, I have to show you something," Sam said with that warm smile of his, "I think you'll like it." His smile was still as infectious as it once were in high school. The one that encompasses any other smile Quinn had seen before.<p>

Once the samples of the food had arrived, the two carried on with their task and picked out the food for the wedding reception. Besides the stolen glances here and there, both Sam and Quinn did not utter another word to one another. The last thing Quinn wanted to happen was to find herself caught in the middle of some small town scandal. She had cheated on Finn with Puck and Sam with Finn before. Since then, she had vowed never to do such a thing again. _This has to end tonight_, she told herself, _it_ _can't go any further than this._

It was late in the evening by the time they had finished with their task for the day. They had managed to pick out the menu, visited the venue one last time and arranged all of the seating plans for the big day.

Sam was now driving through a heavily dense and wooded area in Lima with Quinn sitting at the front passenger seat. He had not said a word since they had entered his pick-up truck, which made her feel nervous and anxious. A smile slowly appeared on Sam's lips, which Quinn took notice of immediately. _Where is he taking me? What are we going to do there? Why me? _she asked herself repeatedly. "What's that smile for?" Quinn asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

"We picked a great night to be here," he told her without taking his eyes off of the road, "The sky's nice and clear." To Quinn, it was as if Sam was speaking in tongues. Another language that she could not decipher no matter how hard she tried. She didn't know whether or not he had planned this night all along.

"You know when -" she started nervously, "I-In the movies, when the person drives someone to a forest at night, that usually means that they're going to kill them there."

The truck comes to a halt and Sam finally faces Quinn, giving her the most stern-looking face he could muster before involuntarily bursting out with laughter. "I would never, ever try to kill you," he tells her, trying to stop himself from laughing hysterically, "For God's sake, I can't even kill a spider, Q. And you think I'd kill you?"

The worried look on Quinn's face slowly changed into relief as she laughed nervously with Sam. "Well," she tells him, "if you told me where we were going and why, I wouldn't be so jumpy."

"We're almost there," he reassures her. Sam quickly grabs a flashlight from the glove compartment of the truck, steps out and runs to the front passenger door to help Quinn down. He absent-mindedly grabs hold of her hand gently and leads her into the forest, away from the road they had entered from. The touch of his hand on her's made all of her anxiety disappear. She felt safe and protected. She knew that she was in good hands.

Darkness began to surround the two of them as they made their way through the forest. Quinn's heart pounded so quickly that it felt like it would leap out of her chest. After passing countless trees, they were welcomed by a vast and empty horizon filled with the stars of the night sky. "I wanted to bring you here a long time ago," Sam stated, "That Astronomy room in McKinley was nice, but, I always preferred the real thing. It's a lot better. You can feel the cold air around you, the sky is so bright and clear... It just makes all my problems -."

"Feel so small," Quinn recalled as she stood beside him, her hand still holding on to his, "You told me that once, remember?"

"You remembered that?"

She nodded. "You never forget something like that," she told him with a smile.

Sam's gaze slowly wandered to his hand and realized that he was still holding on to Quinn. She took notice of it too and decided to release her hold on him, clearing her throat out of embarrassment to cover up what had happened just then. "So why didn't you bring me here before exactly?" she asked him, trying to divert Sam's attention back to their conversation.

"Well, we were always so... busy."

"Busy doing what?" she asked with confusion.

"Umm... making out?"

"What?" she cried out loud with a laugh.

"Well, it's true! We were always indoors. But, anyway, the point is, I've been wanting to bring you here since then and I thought that tonight would be a great time to do so."

Quinn looked out into the view in front of them. She had never seen the stars so bright in her life. Nor had she ever been at this area of Lima before. And, yet, there she stood with Sam right beside her. "It looks beautiful out here," she pointed out.

"And your presence has made it even more beautiful."

She suddenly directed her gaze back to Sam who was looking right at her with a smile on his face. Once again, she felt her heart beating fast as she tried to process what was happening. Sam finally takes a few steps towards Quinn and reaches out to touch her face. He cups her cheek with his hand so perfectly that she had lost all ability to speak. He takes a deep breath in and slowly brings himself closer to her. His face inching towards her face. His lips closing in on her's. Quinn closes her eyes and absent-mindedly brings her hand up to touch his face. Their lips then touched and it was as if everything else had disappeared around them. At that very moment, they were free and nothing else mattered. As if Sam was free from Alice and Quinn was free to love him once again.

Then, as if an asteroid or a comet had dropped out of the sky, reality had set in and Quinn quickly pushes herself away from Sam. "No, no, no," she started, "We can't do this. You're engaged to be married, Sam!" Though she wanted nothing more than to be with him, she had become good friends with Alice. The last thing she wanted to do was to betray her new friend. " I'm sorry if I gave you any sort of signal to make you feel like you had to do that... That wasn't my intention." She tries to look away from him but fails to do so. No matter how hard she tried, his eyes followed her every move. "I shouldn't have kissed you," she told him with a voice full of regret.

His eyes finally met with Quinn's and he immediately saw the deep pool of remorse in her eyes. Sam knew that Quinn was pushing him away because she was afraid. He had seen that same sort of expression on her face before. In high school, she had just started anew after giving birth to Beth the previous year and was hoping to gain back all the popularity she had lost. This time around, however, he knew that she was pushing him away because of the circumstance they were both in. "Are you telling that to yourself?" he asked her, "Or me? Because I see it in your eyes, Quinn. You -"

"Stop. We can't be together when you're with someone else!" she tells him with a frustrated voice, "You only think you want me but, in truth, you don't."

"You don't know how I feel."

"Yes, I do! Because I've been through it before."

"What if I break off the engagement with Alice? Will you have me?"

"Sam, please. I'm not what you want."

"That's not true. I've always wanted you. Don't forget that I waited for you to come back."

"And then you found her and moved on."

"Q, I'm not happy with her," he confesses to her. A regretful look looming on his face.

"You don't mean that."

"Alice and I... we never fought. Ever. Never bickered over things. Whenever I pissed her off, she would walk away, wrote down how she felt on a piece of paper, rips it apart and throws it away. She's also a control freak. Have you noticed how clean our house is? Everything has to be a certain way. Ever since we moved in together, I've felt like I've been shackled to the ground. I don't feel... free. Not like when I was with you. Not like how I'm feeling right now."

Quinn's head began to spin, there was a strange feeling of guilt surging inside of her. She knew very little about the truth behind Alice and Sam's relationship. This was the very first time that he had ever spoken about its flaws so candidly. Was she to believe that he's telling her the truth?

She takes a deep breath in to calm her nerves. "Don't... make decisions like this out of nowhere," she advises Sam, "You never know. Whatever you're feeling right now may be wedding jitters. All of those things that you mentioned... they're not deal breakers, Sam. Alice is a good woman. Don't cheat on her like I cheated on you with Finn. Think of how she'll react to it. You've been together longer than we ever did. If you have issues with her, fix them. Before you get married." Quinn closes her eyes momentarily, holding back her tears before continuing on. "I'm not what you need," she states directly, "Being with me won't solve your problem. It'll worsen it."

The following morning, Sam had had enough sleep to think things through. He knew that Quinn was right. He was acting on his emotions out of impulse and, like any adult, should face and solve problems head-on before deeming it a lost cause. Out of his love for Quinn, and his respect for Alice, he's willing to give his relationship with Alice one last try.

Since Alice was unable to visit the clinic, due to her sickness, their family doctor, Dr. Warner, had been asked to pay her a visit at their house. Upon entering the bedroom, Sam found Dr. Warner preparing to leave. "So how is she?" he asked the doctor. Sam's gaze diverted to Alice who looked as though she had been crying for a while. The doctor looked at Sam with a regretful look on his face. "Dr. Warner... what's going on?" he asked worriedly.

"Take a seat, Mr. Evans," Dr. Warner tells Sam.

Sam pulls out a chair from the bedside table and sits beside Alice. "Why do I have a feeling that this isn't going to be good?" he asks the doctor, tears collecting around his eyes.

"Ms. Nolan... has been suffering from Leukaemia, Mr. Evans," Dr. Warner starts as sensitive and cautious as he could, "She's been diagnosed with this for about 5 years now and -"

"Alice..." Sam interrupts, looking at Alice as though he's looking for an answer from her.

"I'm so sorry, Sam," Alice regretfully tells him as her tears began to fall from her eyes once again, "I've had chemo before and it worked for a while. Mom and dad thought that it had disappeared, but, it came back just about a year ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I wanted us to have a normal life. Even if it meant for a little while."

Sam looked at Dr. Warner, tears now falling down his face. "What... what can I do? What should we do? We need to do something!" he desperately cries out.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Evans, but she's fallen to the very last stage of the cancer. The only thing you can do now is wait and to make her feel as comfortable as possible," Dr. Warner tells Sam as he bids him farewell and leaves the room. Alice then reaches out for Sam's hand and, upon feeling her cold hands, Sam turns to face her, buries his head on her stomach and cries.

"Quinn..." Rachel called out as she entered the basement. After the night she had, Quinn had no intention of going out. She needed to regroup and think things through. However, the sad expression on Rachel's face gave out the message that something had happened. "I just got a call from Sam," Rachel started, "It's about Alice."

"W-What happened?" Quinn worriedly asked her, "Is she okay?" Rachel shakes her head and looks down, unable to look right into Quinn's eyes. "Rachel, what happened?" she asks her again.

"She has cancer, Q. Alice has cancer."

Everyone from Glee club, including Quinn, had decided to give Alice a visit. Under the circumstances, it was the first time that Alice was being introduced to Sam's friends.

"I'm sorry if I look horrible," Alice managed to say with a laugh, "Haven't really gotten any time to fix myself up."

"You look beautiful," Tina told her with a warm smile.

"How are you feeling?" Rachel asks Alice.

"Could be better," Alice candidly tells them, "I'm just glad Sam's here to help me."

As Alice continued to talk to Rachel, Sam's gaze met Quinn's. He could tell that she had been crying as well. There was also a look of guilt written all over her face. Considering how well Sam knew her, he assumed that Quinn was blaming herself for what had happened to Alice because of what happened the night before. Thus, he gave her a reassuring smile and mouthed the words, "It's going to be okay," to Quinn.

"I-Is it alright if I had a few minutes to talk to Quinn?" Alice requested. Upon hearing her name being called out, Quinn looked at Sam, mentally asking him to stay. "Alone... if possible."

Sam and the rest of their friends, slowly made their way out of the bedroom, leaving Quinn standing beside Alice's bed. Her nerves were kicking in and a slight hint of panic was rearing its head. "What... what did you want to talk about?" Quinn asked Alice thoughtfully, hiding any trace of nervousness from her voice.

"It's about Sam."

"Alice... before you say anything. I feel like I should tell you -"

"When I die -"

"Please, Alice, hear me out."

"O-Okay," Alice said with a slight hint of hesitation, "What is it, Quinn?"

"I haven't been... very honest with you," she started, quickly noticing Alice's eyes widen, "You see... back in high school... I - Sam and I... We..." Quinn felt tears welling up inside of her. Ever since her arrival back to Ohio, there had been so many events that have led up to this very moment – not to mention the kiss she had shared with Sam the night before. It was eating her up inside to say the least. However, she knew she had to press on. To free herself from guilt. "Sam and I were in a relationship before," Quinn finally confessed to Alice, tears now falling down swiftly, "I-It wasn't a long relationship, but, I was... He was... We were in love and I blew it because I cheated on him. And, to tell you the truth, I've been kicking myself about that day ever since."

Alice stared at Quinn with a surprised look on her face. She could not utter a single word.

"Alice... Please say something. I beg of you."

"I..." Alice successfully verbalized, "I guess that's why he looks at you a certain way."

"What?"

"He never spoke of you before, but, when he saw you in our house that night... I could tell. He never really looked at anyone else like he did with you. Except, of course, me."

"You're not... You're not upset with me? You don't want to kick me out of your house? Tell me to leave your fiance alone?"

"No," Alice managed to say with a smile, despite the physical pain she was currently going through, "I don't... I'm not upset with you. That happened in the past, Quinn. From the looks of it, you were someone really special to him. So I know that he probably still has some reserved feelings for you right now. But I don't mind."

"Y-You don't?"

"Being this sick makes you realize that your life, and the life of others, should be valued. Not frowned upon. I have no time left in my life to hold grudges. I'd rather be happy with what I have left. Accept what is happening... and what has happened."

Quinn's tears were falling uncontrollably by the time Alice had finished. All this time, she had thought that telling Alice about her past with Sam would disturb her. Now, upon revealing her relationship with Sam, Alice had accepted it and wanted nothing more than to embrace it. But what of the kiss that she shared with Sam the night before?

"Now that you've had the opportunity to tell me that... It gives me the more reason to ask you for one last favour," Alice continued on.

"W-What is it?"

"When I die, Quinn, I want you to watch over Sam for me."


	8. Chapter 8

_**Hello again! I have finally succumb to "writer's block" and, so, hence the delay that is this chapter. But it's here now! So I can breathe a little easier knowing that it's been posted lol.**_

_**Thanks again for all of your comments. Every single one counts and I do read them all. They do help me think of what to write next :)**_

_**Enjoy!**_

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><p>"I can't do that, Alice," Quinn told her regrettably, "I have a job waiting for me back in New York and he's here in Ohio. I'm sorry but... that's just not possible. The least I can do is call him often but that's it." Unable to read what was going through Alice's head, besides the warm smile that appeared on her lips, Quinn continued on, "You're not going to die yet. I assure you. If I know Sam... he'll do everything to make sure you stay alive."<p>

Alice weakly nodded, her smile still in tact. "I understand that you need to go back to New York," she started, "But Sam told me that you haven't been back here in Ohio since you left for college. You need to promise me, that you'll come back whenever you can. Not just for Sam, as much as I want you to take care of him for me, but because it lightens up your face to be home." Quinn looked at Alice with a surprised look on her face. "Just think about it," Alice finally suggested.

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><p><em> Late one Saturday evening, Sam had asked Quinn to help him babysit his two siblings, Stevie and Stacy, while his parents were working the weekend shift. Though they had parted ways romantically by then, nothing had changed between them. He comfortably impersonated every person he could in front of Quinn – from James Earl Jones to George Bush. There was no need to watch mindless shows on TV and boredom was out of the question. They had all that they needed that night. Company.<em>

_ As they tucked the children into bed, Stacy asked Quinn about love and how one could tell that a person was in fact in love. Apparently, according to the young blonde-haired girl, there was a boy in her class that she liked and wanted to be his girlfriend. Though Quinn thought of it as a joke, she kindly laughed the question off and read her a bedtime story. All the while, Sam looked on with a warm smile on his face thinking of how great a mother Quinn would be in the future or if she kept Beth._

_ Once the children had fallen asleep, Sam and Quinn sat at the foot of the bed in silence. "So," he finally forced himself to say to break the awkward silence, "What do you think of love, Q?" _

_ "Honestly?"_

_ "Yeah. Honestly."_

_ "It's not for everyone," she puts simply, trying to put on a facade of sorts, "They say that every person in this world will be loved, but, I don't think that's the case. One in every hundred or so, someone's bound to be left behind. Alone and forgotten."_

_ He sat there, dumbfounded, trying to make sense of what she had just revealed to him. Instinctively, Sam reached for Quinn's hand, squeezed it and looked her right in the eyes. It was becoming harder and harder for her to avoid his gaze. She knew that he was trying to read her thoughts. Sam knew she was lying but she was, in no way, going to let him see through her. _

_ "Stare all you want, Evans. I'm telling you the truth."_

_ Sam shook his head. "You're wrong," he argues back with a gentle tone to his voice, "You're not alone, Quinn."_

_ "What makes you say that?"_

_ "Because I'm right here beside you. This is real. And I'm holding your hand."_

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><p>Every single waking moment that was left in Alice's short life was treated as if it were her last. The elaborate wedding she had planned and hoped for was left behind for a smaller and intimate wedding.<p>

Sam, on the other hand, forced himself to completely forget a possible future with Quinn. He couldn't leave Alice at the state she was in. Not now when she needed him the most. Though it broke his heart to see Quinn continue on with her duties as the maid of honour, he had to accept their fate. For both Sam and Quinn, the night they had at the outskirts of town will be embedded in their hearts and minds for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, it is never to be spoken of again for they will never be together, they told themselves. Not in this lifetime. They were, in a sense, star-crossed lovers like those who have been written in books time and time again.

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><p>The day of the wedding was as hectic as the days that led up to it. With the help of Rachel, Quinn had planned the ceremony according to the couple's liking. It was, like Puck and Rachel's wedding, set in a garden full of beautiful and lush flowers. There were only a few guests. Namely, Sam's friends from high school, Mr. &amp; Mrs. Schuester, Coach Beiste and Principal Higgins.<p>

Guests were already on their seats when Sam arrived. He walked towards the altar with Mike as his best man and nervously waited for his bride. The first to walk in to the garden was Quinn who was wearing a baby blue dress. Then came Alice with her white bridal gown – the only piece that was taken from their original wedding plan. Unlike her appearance in the hospital, Alice was made up thanks to Mercedes and Tina. She looked as healthy as one could be. Then, suddenly, Alice stopped halfway down the aisle feeling dizzy and weak. The adrenaline that she initially had that morning had worn off too quickly.

Realizing that Alice was falling behind, Quinn immediately made her way back to the middle of the aisle to help her friend. She smiled at Alice and asked if she needed help, which she willingly accepted. Hooking her arm with Quinn's, they walked along the aisle together towards Sam.

One could not possibly describe the feeling that was going through Sam at that very moment. There he stood, looking at the two women he loved whole-heartedly. _Who knew that they would have ever gotten along swimmingly?_ Sam asked himself. He was a lucky man despite the unfortunate future that lied ahead of him. He shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts regarding the future and focusing on what was happening before him.

When both Alice and Quinn arrived at the altar, Quinn jokingly shook Sam's hand as if she were the father of the bride, which broke the silence that was looming in the garden despite the number of guests that were present and filled it with laughter. In a sense, Quinn _was_ handing Alice off to be with Sam right then and there. Willing to face the world on her own once again. Before retreating to her seat, Sam gave Quinn a quick kiss on her cheek and whispered something that she could not hear over the priest's voice. She never did get to ask Sam about it afterwards.

During the reception, Sam sat with Alice most of the time since she was tired. They watched and listened as the reunited Glee Club performed together for the newlywed couple. As the night was drawing to a close, the best man and the maid of honour were asked to the front to deliver their speeches.

_Oh crap, _Quinn told herself in alarm. She had forgotten about her speech due to the amount of attention she had been giving towards the wedding preparations. _You can do this. You're a consultant. You do this every single time._

As Mike finished off his speech, Quinn quickly took a deep breath in and walked towards the microphone stand beside Sam and Alice. She grabbed a glass of champagne from the platter nearby and took a moment to look at the crowd in front of her – all familiar faces smiling at her, waiting for her to begin.

"I, umm, I have to be honest with all of you," she begun, "I've forgotten to write a speech tonight." The crowd began to murmur in shock and surprise. "I know, I know... But I would like to share my candid take on what I've observed these couple of weeks instead."

"I've known Sam since high school. I know his little quirks – the Na'avi, the impressions... All of it make up the Sam that we have all known and loved. And, I tell you, it takes a very special kind of woman... to put up with someone like Sam." The crowd, along with Alice and Sam, erupted with laughter. "And it takes a very special kind of man... to fight for his woman even to the very last of fights." Tears began to fill her eyes as the thought of Alice perishing filled her mind. Sam was also becoming teary-eyed as Alice held his hand tightly.

"It's not easy. It's not going to be easy. But I'm glad that two of you are fighting through the odds anyway. And I hope and pray that God will give the two of you more weeks, months and years together. Because you two, as I've come to realize, are a perfect match for one another. Though you each have obstacles to get over, I know that you two will fight them together. That's all that should matter and I wish you both nothing but luck," Quinn ended as tears began to roll down her face. Sam quickly stood from his seat as the crowd began to clap. He walked towards Quinn and gave her a tight hug.

"Thank you," he told Quinn, "Thank you so much for putting up with me and all the things you had to go through these past few weeks. I -"

"There's no need for you to thank me, Sam. I'll always be here for you... I'm your friend."


	9. Chapter 9

_It took me a while to write this chapter up since I've been busy with work. So I'm sorry that it took so long._

_Once again, thank you for giving me feedback on my work. It helps me sooooo much! Thank you! Enjoy :)_

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><p>Sam woke up to the sun seeping through the curtains of the dark bedroom. Lazily, he opened his eyes and crawled out of bed. Failing to measure the height between the floor and the bed, he falls hard on to the wooden floor. He groans in pain and the sound echoed throughout the room. <em>What a night.<em>

Once he had recovered, he stood from his sleepy daze and opened the curtains wide. The sun immediately entered the room and blinded him for what felt like an eternity. His appearance had changed, once again, since Alice's death. It has been 6 months since she had passed on – after just a year of marriage. It was all but a memory now – light-years away from where he stood.

As he looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror he hardly recognized himself. His eyes were bloodshot red from the heavy drinking he had done the night before at a bar nearby. His once cleanly shaved mug was now scruffy, which added more to his age than it should. The usual smile on his face every morning was nowhere to be found. _There's no reason for me to smile anymore_, he told himself. Not when everyone he ever loved, who kindly offered to help him upon his wife's death, was completely pushed out of his life.

Miles away from Sam, in New York City, was Quinn. For about a year now, Quinn's career made a turn for the better. She had less responsibilities at work after proving herself to be a valuable asset to the company and was given more time to relax. Those extra days and hours were spent taking little journeys around the city. To finally explore the world around her. For once in her life, she was doing things for herself that truly made her happy. She had finally found herself amidst the hustle and bustle around her. She felt free.

"Why don't you take a vacation, Fabray?" her manager suggested, "You've met up with all your immediate clients. You're set for, oh I don't know, maybe a two week vacation?" Quinn could not help but smile. She knew exactly where she should go. _There's no place like home._

Upon arriving at the airport, Quinn was met by Puck who held hands with a now pregnant Rachel. "Look at you," Quinn exclaimed, "You look beautiful!"

"I tell her that everyday and she doesn't believe me," Puck interjected.

"Well that's because you're my husband, and as any dotting husband should be, he must shower his wife with flattery everyday," she reminded her husband with an air of sarcasm.

"Oh I missed you two," Quinn told the couple as she hugged them as tightly as she could. "How's Sam?" she then asked them immediately. The sole reason for her two-week visit to Ohio was to visit her recently widowed friend. Unfortunately, the saddened look on both Rachel and Puck's face did not reassure her the way she had hoped. Something was wrong.

"He's been inside that house for 6 months," Puck told Quinn as they stood in the front lawn of Sam's house with Rachel. "The only time he ever comes out is late at night. Like a bat. I've heard stories from the guys at work. They see him there just sitting at a corner and drinking until the bar closes. Sometimes he'd pick fights with random people and come out with a few bruises of his own."

"Haven't any of you tried reaching out to him?" Quinn asked the couple with a slightly frustrated tone to her voice, "Help him out in some way?"

"We tried, Q," Rachel told her regrettably, "But he's pushed every single one of us away. There's no getting through to him. So, instead, we've just been keeping a close eye on him from afar. That's all we can really do now."

"That's right," Puck agreed with his wife. He then looked at Quinn, brows furrowed, "Hold on a second... Why haven't you tried helping him?" he asked Quinn.

"I... Well, I called when I found out that Alice passed away. But I got no reply back from him. So I thought he had changed his number or - I don't know."

The house was quiet as though no one inhabited it. The grass on the front lawn was brown and dry, which caused the flower beds to completely disappear. It was a wreck. Ironically, the image of the house itself spoke volumes to the type of man Sam Evans had become.

"I'm going in," Quinn declared, which was quickly followed by a resounding 'no' from both Rachel and Puck. Rachel grabbed hold of her's friend's arm as to stop her from going inside the house.

"He's not the same," Rachel warned her, "It's as if an animal had been let out of its cage. It's dreadful. You do not want to go in there on your own."

"Then, Puck, come inside with me," Quinn insisted. She slowly moved away from Rachel and grabbed Puck's arm. However, he immediately pulled away from Quinn's hold and shook his head. "Do not tell me that you don't want to go in there either."

"Yepp. You're right. I'm not going in there," he told her with a hefty amount of fear in his voice. "I've tried that already. I'm not going in there again. Last time I went in there with Mike and he managed to toss the two of us back outside before we could have gotten in. So, I don't know about you, but I don't want to die just yet."

With an angry huff, Quinn walked towards the house much to both Puck and Rachel's mortification. Once she had reached the doorstep, she rang the doorbell and waited.

No reply.

Waiting a few seconds, tapping her heels on the pavement, she tried again with no success. "I know you're in there, Evans!" Quinn shouted as loudly as she could, "Open the door!"

Still no reply from within.

"Sam, I swear to you, I'll break this door open! If I can break into your locker all those years ago, I can damn well break into your house! So open the damn door!"

Violently, the door swung open. She was met by a complete stranger.

"What do you want?" Sam asked with anger in his voice. Quinn was taken aback by the tone of Sam's voice. All the confidence and strength she had gathered prior to knocking on his door had gone away. Her heart began to beat wildly as she nervously stood in front of him without saying a single word. _Who is this man?_

As Sam was about to close the door on Quinn, she held her right arm out and stopped him. "R-Rachel, Puck and I wanted to talk to you," she finally told him with a low voice.

He scanned his lawn and found no one in sight. "No one's with you," he told her. As Quinn turned around, she was caught surprised and disappointed to see that both Rachel and Puck had fled. She cursed at the couple under her breath before turning back to face Sam and realized that he had gone back inside his house. The front door was left open.

Hesitantly, she entered the house in a rather slow pace. The whole house was dark and poorly lit. There was a pungent smell coming from down the hall that she dared not walk towards. Instead, she made her way to the living room.

The once organized, kept and bright living room was a disaster. Litter were scattered everywhere and the smell that had welcomed her in earlier seemed to be following her. As she slowly made her way towards the couch, Quinn noticed a familiar image lying on the living room carpet. One that had been placed in a picture frame for safe keeping. Picking it up, she realized that it was Sam and Alice's wedding photo. The glass frame was cracked as if someone had thrown it across the room. She knew then that her friend has sunk in to his depression more than she could have ever imagined.

"Throw that away," the familiar voice told Quinn from behind.

Turning to face Sam, she nervously placed the picture frame down on the centre table and walked towards him. She didn't know what he was capable of in the mental state he was in but she knew that he would never harm her in any way. "That picture," Quinn started, "Is a part of your past, Sam. You can't just throw it away."

"I don't want anything from the past."

A growing frustration bubbled deep within her. She wanted to slap some sense in to him. "You don't want to keep any memory of your own wife? What's wrong with you?" Sam, looking down on the carpeted floor, then said something inaudible to her. "I can't hear you," she told him, "Look me in the eyes and tell me what the hell's your problem."

It took all the strength inside of him to look her in the eyes. Sam knew that Quinn wasn't going to back down. She's not one to give up so quickly. If he pushes her away, she will only persist. Slowly, he looked her right in the eyes, tears beginning to well up around his eyes. "I-I'm scared," he confessed.

It boggled her mind that a man of his demeanour could have been scared. But, seeing as he had just lost the woman he was supposed to be with until the end, it made perfect sense to Quinn. "I know you are," she empathized with him, "If I were in your position, I would be too. But, look... I'm here for two weeks and I really wanted to spend some time with you."

"Why?"

"Because even though you're acting like a complete jerk, the Sam Evans I know and love still lives inside of you. And I'm here because I made a promise to your wife to look after you when she had passed. Now, let's get you out of this house."

"Where are we going?"

"You're taking me out for lunch."

Sitting across Sam at the diner was a surreal experience for Quinn. Not too long ago, he had told her of his true feelings for her before they had found out about Alice's illness. Needless to say, those feelings remained the same.

His marriage to Alice became conflicted when her illness worsened. Besides the effect it had on them financially, her attitude towards people had also changed. The once welcoming and understanding woman he had married, questioned his loyalty towards her. In the back of her mind, Sam picked her out of sympathy and nothing more. Though he tried to make his relationship work with her, Alice never really acknowledged all of the hard work that he had brought forth until her dying breath. "Go back to her," she told Sam before her death, "I'm sure you've been waiting to. You're free."

Sam and Quinn sat quietly as they ate their lunch and shared stolen glances once in a while. Ultimately, one of them had to crack. Quinn cleared her throat and said, "So how are -"

"She left a letter for you," he told Quinn directly. She looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Alice," Sam explained, "She left a letter for you."

"Did you read it?" she asked.

"No. She told me to guard it with my life and made me swear not to read it. It's only for you."

"Did she write one for you?"

"No," he said with a hurt look on his face. Though their feelings towards each other wasn't mutual, Sam thought that Alice would have remembered all the times they shared before conflict within the two of them had poisoned their relationship.

After lunch, Sam brought Quinn back to his house and decided to open the curtains in the living room for the very first time. "Alice probably rolls around in her grave knowing that I've fucked up our house," he admitted to Quinn with a slight laugh – the first laugh he had let out in about a year and a half now.

"Why is this place such a dump anyway?" she asked her friend as she placed her hands over the mess on top of the centre table. "What happened, Sam? Why are you living like this?"

"Honestly?"

"Yes."

"I have no clue," he told her without any hesitation. "I just... Feel alone, I guess?"

Quinn walked over to Sam and held his hand tightly. "You're not alone," she told him whole-heartedly, "You told me the same thing not too long ago." He looked her in the eyes with a confused look on his face. She smiled at him. "I'm right here. I'm holding your hand. I'm standing right in front of you. You're not alone."

Then, as if something was pulling him, he leaned closer to Quinn. His face only inches away from her's. As much as she tried to back away from him, she felt his hand on her cheek. Sam closed his eyes and placed his lips on her lips. She held his face with her hands and kissed him back. Alone no more.


	10. Chapter 10

I know I say this a lot but… I am really, really, REALLY sorry that it is taking me way too long to update this fic. And I am also going to apologize in advance if this chapter is too short for your liking. BUT, because of the blasted 7-week hiatus, I will be writing a new chapter every week to compensate.

I also want to take this time to thank ceruleanblues for her review for this fic. It really made my day and I'm glad that you (and a few others) understand the way I write. Thank you very, very, VERY much! And, of course, I want to thank all of you (as always) because you're all awesome! All the reviews, constructive criticism or not, really helps. Makes me a stronger writer. Makes for a better story too!

Anyway, here it is!

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><p>It took everything inside of Quinn to pull herself away from Sam. Though she longed to be with him for years now, it didn't seem right for her to take advantage of Sam's current situation. "We can't do this," she told him regrettably while taking a couple of steps back.<p>

"Why not?" he asked with a sad look upon his face.

"Because it's wrong, Sam! Alice passed away only six months ago. How do I know that you're being sincere right now? How do I know that you want to be with me wholeheartedly and not just because you're lonely?"

He stared at Quinn in bewilderment. Sam could not believe that she would ever think that he's capable of manipulating her in that way. There was no one else that he could picture being with after Alice. "Don't you remember what I told you on my wedding day?" he asked her.

"What are you -" Quinn's thoughts suddenly reverted back to that very day. She knew that he had told her something then but thought that it wasn't important. "I-I didn't catch what you were trying to tell me."

Sam reached out for her hand and gently caressed it. "I told you that night that I'll love you no matter what. Q, you don't ever forget your first love. Never. And I never forgot you."

She shook her head in protest, looked him in the eyes and said, "We can't. Not when you're like this. I mean, look at you! Look at this house!"

"I'll change! Quinn, I promise, I'll be a better person for you."

"No, Sam. You have to do this for yourself."

"No," he said in protest as he walked past Quinn and sat on the living room couch, "I like it this way. No one's nagging on me to keep my feet off the centre table... I can leave my stuff everywhere and no one would care." For the first time in years, Sam didn't feel constricted in any way. Sure, he didn't like the way the house looked but living without a care fits him somehow. Quinn looked at him in disgust as if he were a wild pig. She stormed out of the living room and made her way towards the kitchen. Confused and in a slight panic, Sam stood from his comfortable seat and followed her to the chaos that awaited him in the kitchen.

As he entered, Sam found Quinn cleaning the mess he had left on the counter. "W-what are you doing?" he asked her nervously. She had taken out the garbage bin under the sink and tossed all of the garbage lying around.

"If you're not going to clean this up, I will," she replied quickly.

"No!" he called out as he took the garbage bin from Quinn.

"Do you not notice the smell in this kitchen? It smells like a cat died in here. The more you keep all of this crap lying around, you'll die of the fumes coming out of here or food poisoning. Do you want that? Do you want to die six months after your own wife?"

He took a deep breath in and, for the first time, he smelled exactly what she had blatantly pointed out to him. Sam looked at Quinn with a mortified look on his face. _I've fucked up. Big time._ As Quinn was about to reach for the garbage bin to continue cleaning the house, Sam wrapped his arms around the bin with a firm grip – hugging the pile of garbage ever-so-close to him. "No," he told her once again in protest.

"Samuel... Evans... Give me the damn bin!" she ordered with as much authority as she could muster.

He quickly walked away from Quinn, began to pick up the litter around them and placing it inside the bin without saying a word. A smile slowly crept in on her face. _There's the Sam I know, _she told herself. As Sam continued to clean up the mess around the counter, Quinn took out some more cleaning supplies from under the sink and began to clean the dishes that have been sitting out for God knows how long.

"Thanks," Sam finally muttered under his breath as he continued to do his work.

"For what?" she asked him.

"For waking me up."

Though Sam had offered for her to stay in his now-newly-rejuvenated house, Quinn decided to stay over at Puck and Rachel's during her two-week vacation. She knew that staying with Sam would only complicate things. Knowing Sam, he would try everything and anything to win her back. However, she had made a promise to Alice first before anything else. Her feelings for Sam will have to wait. Quinn was helping as a friend and she was helping her friend pick up the pieces of his broken heart. _Whatever happens afterwards will happen in time_, she told herself.

Her first night in Ohio was rough. Since she couldn't sleep, she sat in Rachel and Puck's living room with a cup of hot tea in hand – thinking of Sam and wondering what he was up to at that very moment. Was he out again getting wasted? Is he sleeping soundly on his bed? Or was he awake, unable to sleep because of the thought of her?

"Hey," Rachel suddenly greeted Quinn as she made her way towards the living room, "Why are you still up? Don't tell me that work is calling for you."

Quinn gave her a warm smile and motioned for Rachel to sit down beside her. "Can't sleep," she finally told her friend, "Must be the time difference or something."

"What are you talking about? New York and Ohio are on the same time zone," Rachel replied sharply, "Anyway, I know you're thinking about Sam. So just spill it. How was your visit?"

"It was okay... He's changed a lot. It's as if he doesn't care anymore."

"I told you so."

"But I changed him back."

"What? W-What are you talking about?"

"I made him clean his whole house."

"You did not!" Rachel said with a shocked look upon her face, "We tried that and it didn't work! How - What did you do?" As Quinn recalled what had happened that afternoon, Rachel sat listening to her in bewilderment. Then, a smile appeared on her face and she grabbed hold of her friend's hand.

"What's wrong?" Quinn asked worriedly, "Is your baby kicking?"

"No," she replied, "I'm just happy you're here." Quinn smiled at her friend and nodded in agreement. "Sam needs you more than ever, Q. He didn't want to listen to us because he was waiting for you all this time."

"I... I don't know about that."

"Fate is giving you an opportunity here, Quinn. Sure, you can go ahead and take things slow all you want. But, the time for you two to be together starts now," Rachel held her hand tighter to show her sincerity regarding the subject, "Don't let this chance pass you by. If I didn't take the plunge with Puck, do you think we would be happily married and awaiting our first child now? Think about it."

As Rachel walked out of the living room, Quinn sat on the couch alone once again with all of her thoughts racing through her head. Then, she remembered the letter from Alice that Sam had given her.

Once she entered the guest room, Quinn found Alice's letter on the nightstand by the bed. Slowly, she made her way towards it and looked at it nervously. After much consideration, Quinn sat on the bed, reached for the letter, took a deep breath and opened it.

"My dear friend Quinn," the letter started, "If you are reading this letter at this very moment, that could only mean that I have perished from this world and have left my husband." The tears began to roll down Quinn's face. Though she did not spend a lot of time with Alice, she reserved a special place inside her heart for her departed friend. They became close friends fairly quickly and never did Quinn ever think of Alice in a malicious way. It broke her heart that someone with a kind heart was taken from this world too soon. "I only hope that Sam is coping well and, seeing as I have you to look out for him, I know that he is in safe hands."

"Now, as I could only imagine, you must be wondering why I have written this letter. You see, Quinn, I wanted to let you know of what I am doing to/ have done to Sam." Quinn's heart began to beat quickly.

"As it became clear to me that there is no hope for my survival, I have decided to part ways with Sam both physically and emotionally. Knowing my husband, moving on – especially getting over a loss like this – is hard for him. Thus, I thought that it was best that I break his heart while I was living to help him heal faster when I do pass on."

"Though this may sound absurd to you, this is the only plausible thing I could really think of to help him forget me. This is also the reason why I did not write him a letter and only made one for you. Like I have mentioned, I know that you are watching over him and helping him through this difficult time. This is why I know he'll be okay. Because he has you. Which brings me to the second reason why I have written this letter. Not only am I disclosing to you of what I have done to Sam, I am also asking you for one last favour."

"Quinn, please love him. Love him the way you did before. Love him the way I know you still do. I know, deep within his own heart, he still keeps the memories of you and the feelings that he has for you there. You played such a huge part in his life throughout high school, through his marriage to me and, now, my death, that I can't possibly think of another woman I'd want him to be married to but you."

"Please take this into consideration. I know it's hard and quite bizarre, to even think of being with Sam right now, but, in time, I hope that you two will find peace and, most importantly, love in each other's arms. With all my love, Alice."

Quinn quickly folded the letter and sobbed quietly. Feeling more troubled and lost because of Alice's request, she didn't know how she was going to break the news to Sam or whether she should let him know of the contents of the letter. Due to the amount of respect she has for Alice, she felt as though it is not ethical for her to think of creating a future with Sam. _What do I do now?_


	11. Chapter 11

**_As promised, I'm posting a new chapter every week. So, if this chapter looks a little short to you, don't worry! I'll be posting again in a few days :) _**

**_Unfortunately, like all stories, this story is coming to a close quite soon. _Possibly two more chapter and that's it. _But, not to worry (again lol), I have an Overgron one-shot in mind and a bunch of other Fabrevans fics that I'm thinking of writing._**

**_Enjoy!_**

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><p>Quinn spent most of her days during her vacation with Sam and, everyday, she felt the need to explain to him why she was there in the first place. "I'm your friend," she would tell him while they were together, "I'm helping you out because I care about you."<p>

Fortunately enough, she had changed him back to the Sam she knew, more or less, and he had started to do his infamous impressions again (when appropriate). Upon clearing out his bedroom closet, Quinn immediately realized that Sam barely had any new clothes. "I know it's not your thing," she explained, "But you have got to present yourself a lot better."

"And why is that?"

"So you can meet women again."

His face grew pale. He knew that it was about time that he had moved on but could not bring himself to imagine a life with another woman. That is, if the woman isn't Alice... or Quinn. "You want me to date someone," he asked her for clarification.

"Yes," she replied, "I mean, no. I mean... that's one of the things that Alice wrote on her letter. She wants you to find someone."

"I don't believe you."

"What are you talking about?"

"She would never hand me over to someone she doesn't trust. If she wanted me to get married again, she would have written in the letter that the only woman I should be with is -" he looked as if he had some sort of breakthrough - a moment of realization perhaps.

Quinn looked him in the eyes intently, trying to figure out who or what he was going to mention.

"It would be you," he finally told her, "She would want me to be with you."

Nervously, she shook her head quickly. "And why exactly would she say that? She didn't mention my name in the letter."

"I don't believe you."

His persistence in the conversation began to frustrate her. She didn't know what to say or do in her defence. Though she wanted nothing more than to be with him, she could not shake the thought of others criticizing her or Sam and their actions. How would it look to others when a woman who was supposedly a widower's friend suddenly became his new bride? How would it look for a widower to entertain the idea of being with a woman who was simply trying to help? All valid questions that ran through Quinn's mind. All of which she could not answer.

While Quinn was lost in her own thoughts, Sam held her hand gently to bring her attention to him. "If you won't show me the letter, at least do me a favour," he told her in a gentle tone, "Go out with me."

"What?" she stood in shock at his request.

"Listen, I haven't dated in a long time. The last time I dated, I met Alice and then we got married," he looked into Quinn's eyes and explained himself as if he were conducting a science experiment of some sort.

"So I'm like a rebound."

"No, no! What I meant to say is..." he was lost in her eyes. He always was. Looking at her now, Sam knew that Quinn was the only one who would ever feel right in his life. Quinn waited patiently as he got himself together. "I feel comfortable with you, Q. If I'm going to at least go out with other women, I need someone to help me. Coach me."

"Then get Coach Beiste," Quinn quickly replied in a joking tone, "You called her name out once. Why not ask her out?"

"Wha - Did you forget that she's married?" he said in a panic, "Are you nuts? How would you even bring that up -"

"Sam!" she held his hand now, squeezing it tight and laughing at the redness that was forming around Sam's cheeks, "Sam, I was kidding. It was a joke. Relax."

He closed his eyes in exasperation and took a deep breath in. "You're not making it very easy for me to ask you out, Fabray."

"Well, the times have changed, Evans," she told him matter of fact, "What's the fun in a date if the woman doesn't play hard to get?"

A smile began to creep into Sam's mouth. "So... does that mean that... you're saying, 'yes'?" he asked her for confirmation. She nodded with a warm smile and he gave her a tight hug. "Thank you!" he said excitedly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll pick you up tonight."

"Tonight?" she said with a laugh.

"Yes! Tonight at 8. I'll pick you up and I'll take you somewhere nice. And then you can give me feedback after."

For a while now, Quinn had not seen this side of Sam. One who was excited and doe-eyed, willing to do anything and everything. Though she was partially giving in, Quinn firmly told herself that the date was going to be a "practice run" of sorts for Sam. _It's not a REAL date. It's just to help Sam feel more comfortable. Get him back in the game. Sort of like playing pretend._ _No strings attached. Nothing too personal. Just a casual night out with a friend who needs help._

_ Crap_.

Quinn found herself in a dilemma. She had been spending most of the afternoon looking through her suitcase for a suitable dress to wear on her date with Sam. But, to no avail, she found none that was good enough. Thankfully, since Rachel was in fact due in a couple of days, she was at home to help her desperate friend.

"Why don't you borrow something from me then?" Rachel suggested, "None of them will fit me for a while anyway. Seeing as my pregnancy has turned me into quite a hefty-looking woman. Might as well have someone use them."

Quinn shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, Rach, but, Sam has probably seen you wear those at least once. I want to look... different," she told her regretfully.

Rachel's smile grew larger. "So we're aiming to impress tonight are we?"

"No," Quinn told her, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment, "I just want it to feel like an authentic date for him."

"I say let go of your inhibitions, Q," Rachel told her immediately, "Let him sweep you off your feet. Like I told you before, this is your time to be together now. If you keep pushing him away, he'll end up finding someone else. And then what? What will become of you?" She held Quinn's hand tightly and smiled at her again. "I believe that the two of you belong together. I have from the start. So, tell me, what is your heart telling you now?"

Quinn stared blankly ahead, trying to collect her thoughts. "I love him," she said out loud without meaning to. She then looked at Rachel with a surprised look on her face. "Oh my God!"

"Oh my God!" Rachel screamed, "See?"

"Oh my - I love him!"

They both laughed at Quinn's revelation. Not only did she catch Rachel by surprise, but she had even surprised herself. For the first time, she had let her feelings known and it felt great to have finally gathered enough strength to say it out loud. Suddenly, it hit her. She looked at her friend and her smile slowly disappeared. "What?" Rachel asked worriedly, "What's wrong?"

"What if he doesn't love me back?"


	12. Chapter 12

**_Thank you all so much for your reviews and your patience! You all have no idea how much it means to me._**

**_Anyway, as some of you may know, I mentioned on the last chapter that I was going to end this fic soon, but, while I was writing this chapter, I realized that I should continue on. There's a twist to this story and I hope that it won't upset anyone. I will update again next week as promised._**

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><p>Though she was hesitant about wearing a dress from Rachel's wardrobe, Quinn settled for a navy blue dress that Rachel swore she had not worn yet. Given the fact that she did not have much time left, Quinn had, for a lack of a better word, no choice. Furthermore, since make-up wasn't Rachel's strong suit and Quinn was far too nervous to do it herself, Rachel had called Tina and Mercedes over for an "emergency makeover" party.<p>

"I don't know why you asked for our help, Q, Sam thinks your pretty with or without make-up," Mercedes told the nervous blonde.

"Well, this isn't just any date with some guy. This is Sam. It means a lot to me if I get at least a small speck of his attention," Quinn told her friends as she fiddled with her hair.

Tina sat beside Quinn and held her hand, "Quinn... Sam always gave his whole attention to you when you were together."

At that point, tears began to well up around Quinn's eyes. Though she had already spoken to Sam regarding their relationship in high school, she never fully expressed how thankful or grateful she was to have had a relationship with him in high school. Who knew that she would have found her "Mr. Right" then at a young age? Who knew that he would have revolved his whole entire world around her? Someone who had a rocky start in high school with a pregnancy that led to loneliness of all things? She was lucky indeed. And, once again, it's as if fate had given Quinn another chance to be with the man she truly loves. This time, she promised she would set things right. This time, she was going to love him and devote her whole entire being to him.

"All set," Tina announced with a smile on her face, "Go look at yourself in the mirror." Quinn stood up from her seat and walked over to the mirror that was on the wall of Rachel and Puck's bedroom. She took a deep breath and saw her reflection looking right back at her.

"You look beautiful!" Rachel chimed in, holding her protruded stomach with a smile.

"Do you think he'll like it?" she asked her friends feeling more self-conscious as the time draws closer for Sam to pick her up.

Mercedes gave her a warm smile. "He loves you," she tells her, "I just know it. He's not himself when you're not around but, when you are, he comes right back. You already told us that you love him. Now's the time for you to tell him that you love him. Don't hesitate. Life's too short. Now come over here for a good luck hug." She walked towards Quinn and embraced her. Soon enough, Tina and Rachel joined in.

"Okay, that's enough," Rachel told them, "I apologize for cutting the sweet sentiments short, but, our Cinderella needs to wait downstairs and wait for her Prince Charming." She squeezed Quinn's arm gently as if she were transferring some sort of strength to her nervous friend. "You'll be fine."

The ladies made their way down to the Berry/ Puckerman's living room. Quinn sat at a single couch near the window while Rachel, Mercedes and Tina sat in front of her on a larger couch. It felt like an eternity waiting for Sam. Quinn could feel her heart pounding as she continuously checked the time at the wall clock that hung high. This was the moment she had been waiting for. She was going to finally let go of all her insecurities and express her love to the only man that truly made her feel that she was loved.

On the other side of town, Sam was still in his own house quickly running to and fro looking for the right clothes to wear. _This is Quinn we're talking about_, he told himself, _You can't mess this up_. _If you make a great impression maybe she'll come around and give us a chance again as a couple. _As he calmed himself down with deep, slow breaths, Sam then realized that he was late. He had been so carried away preparing himself for his date that he had forgotten to leave his house early for it. With adrenaline in his body, he ran out the door and into his car.

As he backed out of his driveway, he took out his phone from his pocket and dialed Quinn's cellphone number quickly. Paying only half of his attention to the road, he impatiently waited as the ringing continued on the other line. Sam, figuring out that Quinn may have been preparing at that very moment, decided to hang up his phone. He held the steering wheel of his car tightly and pressed his foot firmly on the gas pedal.

Sweat began to form around Sam's forehead and he worriedly looked at the clock on his car's dashboard, making sure that he wasn't too late. Just then a large truck had turned onto the lane he was in - a single lane with a passing lane on the left. As he had imagined, the truck moved in an incredibly slow rate and his patience was running out. Without any hesitation, Sam floored his car faster and merged onto the passing lane to avoid the truck. Little did he know that a pick-up truck was heading towards him from the passing lane as well.

His car had crashed into the pick-up truck, throwing his car out of the road and into an empty field. The car tumbled several times and, before he knew it, everything had turned black all around him. The last image he saw was Quinn.

"He's an hour late," she told the three women looking right at her with worried looks on their faces. "That's not like him to be late."

Rachel, feeling that Quinn was in distress, walked quickly towards her and sat beside her. "He's probably trying to figure out what he's going to wear too. I mean, it took you the whole afternoon to find an outfit and get yourself together. I'm sure he's just taking his time too."

"He would have called," she replied coldly.

The phone then rang from across the living room. "See?" Rachel said with a smile, walking towards the phone, "That must be him calling right now. You can shout obscenities to him in a bit." As she lifted the receiver, the smile she wore suddenly faded away causing Quinn's heart to beat even faster than it did before (if it were possible).

"W-what's wrong, Rach?" she asked her friend.

"I-It's Sam. He's... he's at a hospital."

Quinn's heart sank as she stared into nothingness. The tears began to flood her eyes. In a nervous and panicked state, she stood from her seat, took out the keys to her car from her purse and left the Berry/ Puckerman house without saying a word. Mercedes and Tina quickly followed suit, finding Quinn sitting inside her car in tears. Once Rachel came out to join her friends at the doorstep, Quinn had driven off. For all she knew, he was fighting for his life at that very moment. She only wished that she could find him alive waiting for her.

"He's touch and go," the doctors told her, "Due to the severity of the crash, Mr. Evans had suffered numerous concussions and is in an induced coma. Would you like to see him, Ms. Fabray?"

After she was escorted to Sam's room by the doctor, she was left alone with him. She stared at his beaten and almost lifeless body trying to hold back the tears that were welling up inside. _Why is this happening to him, God? _she asked in prayer as she knelt down beside his bed. Quiet sobs escaping from deep within. _Haven't you taken enough away from him?_

The stillness inside the room felt surreal to Quinn. It was as if life didn't exist then and there. All she could hear was her very own sobs and the sound of the life support that is keeping the love of her life alive. She stood up and sat beside him for the first time. Trembling, she took him by the hand and kissed it softly. "Sam," she pleaded, tears rolling down her face, "Sam, please wake up."

"I don't know if you can hear me right now, but, I want you to know that I love you. I love you so much, Sam. I always have. So, please, wake up and let's start our life together. I promise to be by your side and give you 100% every single day. Please..."

A single prolonged tone then intruded her thoughts. A flat line appeared on the monitor besides Sam's bed. _No, no. It can't be._


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you all for being so patient with me and this story of mine. I know it takes wayyyyyy too long for a new chapter to be posted, but, I hope you all understand that I have priorities (such as my job) that needs tending to. However, always know that I keep this story in mind a lot. I'm constantly writing in my head and write/ type the continuation down when I have the time. **

**So, in short, I'll post 2 chapters this week. Because I owe you all BIG TIME lol. **

**Thank you once again and enjoy!**

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><p>Life is a constant journey, so they say. And, unfortunately, all journeys must come to an end at some point. At that very moment, Sam's journey on Earth, so it seemed, was coming to an end.<p>

"No," Quinn said out loud along with her sobs, "God, please, don't take him away. I need him here with me. I won't be able to live without him. Please..." She took Sam's hand and shook it as if to wake him up from his slumber. With no response, her sobs turned into a cry of defeat as Sam was departing in this life to the next. "Sam... You need to fight, Sam. Wake up."

White light shone everywhere around him. As he glanced down, he noticed that he was wearing all white. As he looked back up, he found himself staring at an empty white hallway. When he looked behind him, he saw just the same. There was nothingness and Sam Evans was in the middle of it. He did not know where he was heading nor did he know where it was going to take him. However, something from deep within told him to turn around and walk the opposite direction - whatever that may be.

Just then, he heard a quiet voice, close to a whisper, calling for him from behind. "Sam..." it said softly, a woman whose voice was faltering because of tears, "You need to fight, Sam. Wake up. Wake up." Now, feeling as though the voice was his guide, he turned around once again and retraced his steps. The voice called out to him again, only a lot more defined and clear. She was calling him and he wanted nothing more but to walk towards it.

Once the doctor had arrived in Sam's room, he found Quinn lying beside him. The tears have exhausted her and so she lay beside Sam without saying a word - only embracing him as though she did not want to let go. "Ms. Fabray," the doctor started, "I'm afraid he has passed on."

"No," she said in defiance, "He's just tired. He'll wake up soon enough."

The doctor cautiously walked towards her and placed his hand on her arm, asking her to let go of Sam. "We're gonna have to transfer Mr. Evans to the morgue, Ms. Fabray. If you choose to stay, we'll have no choice but to move you ourselves."

"No!" she found herself shouting out loud, "I'm not leaving him."

Just then a female nurse entered the room and pleaded for the doctor to let Quinn bid her final goodbye to Sam. "She just needs time," the nurse tells the doctor. Feeling defeated in some way, the doctor simply nods and leaves the room. The nurse following him immediately.

As Sam continued to walk down the blindingly bright hallway, the voice seemed to have stopped. Confused, he stops walking down the hall as well. The silence scares him and the never-ending corridor does not help his nerves either. He could feel his heart pounding out of his chest.

Just then, as he grew comfortable to the sound of emptiness, a sharp piercing sound begins to travel along the corridor. Unable to bear the high-pitched sound, Sam covers his ears as his knees gave in. In a matter of seconds, he grew weak and forced himself to crawl. Helpless and alone, tears began to fall from his eyes as he struggled to move forward.

_ Where am I? Where am I going? What is happening?_

Two minutes have passed and Sam continues to fail in responding to Quinn's touch. She was beginning to lose hope and felt the end coming near. Regret began to loom over Quinn as she blamed herself for not letting her feelings known to Sam. She blamed herself for the predicament that he was currently in and, now, it seemed that she was too late. The love of her life, the one that she had been waiting for, may be passing on. She held his cold hand tighter.

Lost in her thoughts and memories of Sam, Quinn began to hum a song that was familiar to both her and the man that laid lifeless on the hospital bed in front of her. She sang the words in her head knowing well enough that, if she were to sing it out loud, she would break down further into the abyss of her broken heart.

_Even though the pain and heartache seems to follow me wherever I go  
>Though I try and try to hide my feelings, they always seem to show<br>Then you try to say you're leaving me and I always have to say no  
>Tell me why is it hard<br>Don't want to let you go  
>I never can say goodbye, love...<em>

"I should have told you then and there," she finally said aloud to Sam, "I should have told you that I loved you. Even before Alice ever came into the picture. I should have never left, Sam. Not when you needed me the most. I'm so sorry."

What's left of Quinn's tears pour out and, as hard as it was for her to do so, she finally releases her hold on Sam's hand. "I'll be seeing you soon," she bid farewell.

"I'll be seeing you soon," the voice called out to Sam again. The high-pitched noise seemed to have disappeared. The corridor fell silent again and, with all the strength left inside of him, he stood up. For the first time since he had arrived at the strange hall, Sam cleared his throat and found that his mouth was dry for some unknown reason. He took a deep breath and spoke softly with a raspy sound coming out of him. "I-I'm coming. Wait. Wait for me."

Quinn stood from her seat and leans forward to kiss Sam on the forehead before leaving. Little did she know that Sam's index finger had just moved a little as if he were reaching out. She caressed Sam's face, forces out a smile and makes her way out the door when a low and quiet moan escapes Sam's lips.

Shocked and alarmed with the sound she had just heard, Quinn quickly turned around and ran back to Sam. "S-Sam?" she asked leaning forward, stroking his forehead, "Sam?"

"W-Wa-"

"Sam! What do you need?" tears began to fall from Quinn's eyes once again. This time, she was overcome with joy. He was waking up.

"Wa-wa-ter," he whispered.

"Say it again, Sam."

"Water."

She quickly reached over Sam for the call button that hung beside his bed. Almost violently, Quinn continuously pressed the button. "He's awake! He's awake!"

Seconds later, both the doctor and the nurse ran in to find Sam making small movements, his eyes now slowly fluttering open.

"Oh my God, he's waking up, doctor!" the nurse said in astonishment.

The doctor immediately walked towards Sam, took out his flashlight and began to examine him. Sam followed the light with his eyes and seemed to be responding. "This rarely happens, Ms. Fabray," the doctor began to tell Quinn, "It seems like Mr. Evans was in a Minimally Conscious State or MCS. Of course we'll have to do more tests."

"So he's safe?"

"So far, so good."

"You're alive!" Quinn embraced Sam tightly. "When you get better, you'll get to go home," she told him, "With me."

"Nurse... I... I need water, please." Sam finally said.

A pang of shock suddenly engulfed Quinn. Instead of looking at the nurse behind her and the doctor, Sam seemed to be looking right at her. "Sam," she said with a nervous laugh, "Now's not the best time to joke around."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but... who are you?"


	14. Chapter 14

_**I wrote this chapter while I was at work so it's not very long. As I'm posting this up tonight, I am also typing up the next chapter now. So, hopefully, I'll have that for you tonight as well :)**_

_**You're all probably tired of me apologizing for the slow updates, so, I'm asking you all to be patient with me. But thank you all for being so patient and for reminding me to update lol.  
><strong>_

_**Enjoy!**_

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><p>His surroundings didn't make any sense to him. All of those who came to visit looked unfamiliar – especially the blonde woman who held his hand throughout his experience at the hospital. <em>She must be someone really important to me<em>, he told himself. Though he has not bothered asking the woman herself what his relationship is with her, he felt a warm feeling inside of him whenever she was around.

At that very moment, however, Sam wanted nothing more but to see her smile. His predicament seems to be putting quite a stress on her. Thus, for some odd reason unbeknownst to him, he held her hand as she was sleeping beside his bed. Quinn woke up with a startle, surprised that he had touched her hand. "Sam? Do you remember?" she said with a hopeful look in her eyes.

He shook his head apologetically. He wished he did. The questions that loomed over his head could no longer remain unanswered. He had to ask someone and the woman before him seems to be one that he could trust. "Sorry, I still don't," he started, "But I wish that you could... help me figure some things out?"

"Sure," Quinn immediately answered, overjoyed that Sam was coming around and was willing to cooperate. Since he had regained consciousness from his coma, he had rejected any help from anyone. Today, so it seems, Sam's spirits were high.

"I... I feel stupid for asking, but, you've been beside me for almost a week now and... I know you told me already. And people called you by name, but, for one last time... could you tell me your name?"

The worried, guilty look on Sam's face brought a slight smile to Quinn's lips. There's the Sam I know, she told herself. "My name is Quinn. Quinn Fabray."

He smiled at the mention of her name. It matched her clandestine quality. A name well-suited for her. "I'm glad to meet you... Quinn," he said awkwardly, "Well, I probably knew you before this head injury, but, New Sam can't remember a thing."

"Well, New Sam, I'm glad that you have Old Sam's sense of humour," she replied jokingly. A brighter and more sincere smile plastered on her lips this time.

"You have a beautiful smile, Quinn. If you don't mind me saying."

"Why thank you."

"And your eyes..."

"W-What about them?"

"I'm... I'm too embarrassed to say it in English. So I'll say it in a different language instead. Lor menari, Quinn."

A giggle escaped her mouth at that very moment. "Are you sure you lost your memory? Because you seem to know exactly what to say to me."

"What do you mean?"

"You told me that before."

"When?"

"In high school. It was your first week at McKinley and you... you spoke Na'vi to me."

"Oh God! So you probably understood what I just said then. I'm so sorry, Quinn. I swear I'm not trying to hit on you."

During that very moment, Sam and Quinn looked at one another and laughed. It was as though they had no problems at all. "It's okay," she told him, patting his arm, "I'm used to you saying stuff like that."

The smile on Sam's lips slowly faded away as he prepared himself for the next question that he was about to ask her. "I have another question for you."

"Okay..."

"A-Are you... related to me? Like a family member or something?"

"No."

"Are we... Are you my wife?"

"No!"

"Oh thank God!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm sorry. I meant... we'd be too young. Plus, if I were to marry you or any woman, I'd want to be prepared. Financially." He saw the sad look in her eyes once again. He knew he was saying the wrong things. He barely knew Quinn and there he was breaking her heart in two. "So you must be my girlfriend then."

"No."

"No?"

Quinn couldn't look into Sam's eyes out of guilt and embarrassment. "Well, we were just... we were going to. And then... then you had your accident. So, we're caught in the middle, really." She purposely left out their relationship in high school thinking that it may be too much for Sam to handle.

He could see the sad look upon her face again. She wanted the Old Sam back but he unfortunately couldn't give him to her. Sam knew nothing about Quinn and his life before the accident.

_My name's Sam Evans. I live in Kentucky but somehow ended up here in Ohio. I don't know much about my life now but I do know, right now, that I trust Quinn Fabray. No questions asked.  
><em>

The next day, Sam's mother and father had arrived from Kentucky and took over taking care of their son. Quinn was given a heartfelt thank you and permission to go home. Though she was reluctant to leave, she knew she had no reason to stay. Who was she but a friend to Sam anyway?

As she arrived at the Berry-Puckerman household, Quinn sat at the front porch and stared into nothing-ness. How will she get Sam back now that he had completely forgotten her? She's but a single memory that has been plucked out of Sam's brain.

"Q?" Rachel softly said as she opened the front door.

"Hey," Quinn smiled and signaled her friend to sit beside her on the bench.

"How was he?"

"His wounds are healing fast. He can walk with a cane. The doctor said that he'll need it for a while... But he can't recall anything. He didn't even know my name." Quinn felt tears forming inside of her. Just then, from the corner of her eyes, she could see Rachel shifting uncomfortably beside her. "Rach, what's wrong?"

Rachel looked Quinn in the eyes and took a deep breath in. "I... I don't really know how to tell you this, but... a secretary from New York called. She said that your boss is looking for you. He needs you back there in 2 days."

"What?"


	15. Chapter 15

_**For some odd reason, all these ideas have finally hit me like a freight train and, so, updates will be coming in fast. And this is probably a good thing seeing as I'll be awa tomorrow on a conference for work.**_

_**Anyway, if you haven't read or don't remember what happened on the 5th chapter of this fic, you won't completely grasp the reason behind this chapter. So, if you haven't read that part, I suggest you head on over to the 5th chapter before reading this one.**_

_**Thank you so much for all of your reviews. I say this a lot, but, they do mean a lot to me. I'd also like to personally thank ceruleanblues for all of your feedback. They help me write and mould this story into something even BIGGER than I had planned it to be.  
><strong>_

_**ENJOY :D  
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><p>She knew she was leaving Sam for what felt like the hundredth time and, unfortunately, with such a demanding job, she did not have much of a choice. Thus, seeing as there was no point of saying farewell to a person who did not recall her anyway, Quinn took the first flight out of Ohio the very next day without telling Sam.<p>

However, before leaving, Quinn had asked Rachel and Puck to keep an eye on Sam at a distance for her. To make sure that he's recovering well and that he wasn't alone. She had kept a promise to Alice before Sam's accident and she intended on keeping it regardless of the circumstances now.

The events over the past year had drained Quinn physically and emotionally. All she wanted was to return back to New York in hopes of possibly finding peace amidst the chaotic city and her equally strenuous job. Just then, as she was taking a short nap during the flight, she felt a hand on her shoulder. A man's hand perhaps, considering that the weight of it was far too heavy and rough to be that of a woman's. Then she heard the person's voice.

"Quinn?" the man's voice called out from behind. Slowly, Quinn opened her eyes and cautiously looked behind her to see who was calling her name.

A strange, scary feeling loomed over her body immediately. The man that once haunted her has returned once again. There was nowhere or no place for her to go. She was on a plane and a flight that seemed to be turning into one where the destination was hell. The face and the voice that greeted her was that of Finn Hudson's.

"W-What are you doing on a plane to New York?"

"Burt asked to meet with a potential sponsor in New York. The family business is moving on up in the world, I guess," Finn said with a boastful chuckle. "How about you? Shouldn't you be with Sam back in Lima?"

"I was called back to work, so, here I am," she said in a hushed tone, making sure that she made no mention of Sam. She knew that it would be best that Finn knew less about her life and of those she held dearly. This seemed to please Finn as a slight smile crept his lips.

Before Finn could utter another word, the caution lights began to blink informing all passengers to return to their seats or to put on their seat belts immediately. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Quinn. But, uhh… since we'll be in the same state, maybe we could grab a drink or something? Here's my number," he said as he took out a calling card from his pocket.

Once Finn had disappeared from her sight, Quinn placed the calling card in between her seat and the seat beside her. There was no way that she could possibly even think of having a relationship or even a friendship with a man who was willing to cheat on Rachel, her best friend, for her all those years ago.

When the plane finally arrived in New York, Quinn collected her baggage from the holding area and quickly made her way out of the airport trying to avoid meeting Finn again. Unfortunately, Finn had seen her. His hand quickly landed on her shoulder and the same uncomfortable feeling engulfed her once again.

"Oh, Finn," she had said with a little more disdain than she had planned. She then quickly noticed the smell of alcohol under his every breath. _Must have had a glass of wine during the flight_, she told herself. Finn's gaze never left her.

"Want to grab that drink with me now?" he asked in a slow and slurred voice. _Clearly intoxicated_.

Quickly, she began to think of possible scenarios that could get her away from Finn, "Sorry, but, umm… I really have to get back to my place and rest tonight," she said in a very apologetic tone, "I go back to work first thing tomorrow."

"Oh, c'mon, Q," Finn said as his hand made its way from Quinn's shoulder to her hand, "It's just a drink. It won't take very long."

As she began to feel more uncomfortable with the situation at hand, Quinn began to helplessly release herself from his hold on her.

"What's the matter with you? It's just a drink."

"Finn, I don't think you're thinking clearly right now. So, please, let me go."

"Just… one drink," he repeated as he tried to grab hold of Quinn's other hand.

"Let me go!" Quinn finally said as she pushed herself away from Finn completely.

Before Finn could hold Quinn again, a man's hand held Finn's shoulder. In annoyance, Finn turned around to face the man. "Mind your o -" he said in shock as he saw Sam standing right in front of him – a stern look on his face.

"Sam!" Quinn called out.

"I believe the lady asked you to let her go," Sam pointed out to Finn as his grasp tightened on Finn's shoulder causing Finn to stumble back in pain.

"Okay, okay," he said apologetically, "I'll leave her alone." Finn then scurried away, leaving Quinn and Sam together in the middle of the airport lobby.

Surprised by the turn of events, Quinn didn't know how she was going to begin the conversation with Sam. Has he regained his memory? Was he here to bring her back to Lima?

"Are you okay?" he asked her worriedly, making sure not to hold her fearing that it might startle her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," she finally said, trying to avoid looking at him. The silence between them that followed was not that of discomfort but that of safety. In an act of relief, Quinn quickly wrapped her arms around Sam and hugged him tightly. He didn't question her gesture.

"Did you know who that guy was?"

_He still doesn't remember_, she told herself, causing her to back away from him. "You… you're supposed to know him too."

Sam looked at her solemnly. His memory had not returned to him and yet there he was in the middle of an airport, saving a woman – someone who he felt a strong connection to – from harm. "I'm sorry," he started with an apologetic tone, "I still don't remember anything." Quinn nodded trying to hold back her tears. Sensing that she no longer wanted to be at the airport, Sam then suggested that they leave as he gathered her suitcases and walked with Quinn towards the exit.

Being inside someone's apartment – of a person whom he supposedly knew – was a bizarre experience for Sam. As far as he knew, he had never been to New York and being inside Quinn's apartment felt like he had completely traveled to far off place. "Make yourself comfortable," she told him as she excused herself to prepare tea for the two of them.

Sam sat in the silence of the living room, scanning and examining the room with his eyes when, suddenly, a specific picture took him by surprise.

_No, that can't be._

He stood up from his seat and walked towards the picture perched up on a book shelf. There's a blonde woman in the picture wearing a wedding dress, a bright smile on her face.

_She looks like Quinn but… it's not her. _

Sam reached for the picture and held it in his hand to examine it further. Once he had finished looking at the woman in the picture, his attention went directly to the man dressed in a tuxedo standing beside her. It was him. He was standing beside a woman in a wedding dress.

_Am I married to this woman?_


	16. Chapter 16

_**Thank you all so much for your reviews! **_

_**A few weeks back, I thought this story was going to end and I honestly do not know when this is going to end now lol. It has become such a huge project for me and I have all of you to thank for that. Your input helps me write this story as well. It's always welcome here :)**_

_**Enjoy!**_

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><p>She found him staring at the picture in his hand thinking that the image must have triggered his memory back. However, the alarmed look in his face seemed to be genuine. As if it were the first time he had known of his marriage or the woman in the picture. "That's Alice," Quinn pointed out to Sam as she walked towards him cautiously with his cup of tea, "She was your wife."<p>

"Was?"

Though it had been seven months ago since her death, it was still a difficult issue to address. Especially if you were to address the issue to a person who had no memory of the past. Quinn directed Sam to a couch nearby and sat down beside him – the photo still in his hand. She placed the cup of tea on top of a centre table, took a deep breath in and exhaled. It was then that she had enough strength to look at Sam in the eyes. "Alice…" she started slowly, "Your wife… She passed away about a few months ago, Sam."

He stared at the picture in front of him and back to the woman who sat beside him now. What made him choose the woman in the photo instead of Quinn? What made this woman special? "If I were married to her, then that must mean that I loved her," he said as he started to put the pieces of the puzzle together, "Which means I should remember her, right?"

"Well the doctor said -"

"The doctor said a lot of things that I don't understand."

"I know you're going through a tough time, Sam, but -"

"Nothing makes sense to me. When I look in the mirror, all I see is this guy with no story or recollection of anything remotely valuable to my recovery. I don't understand what's happening and the only time I even felt safe was when you were with me," he revealed. Quinn looked at Sam in shock. "That's why I came out here," he went on, "To look for you."

"What could I possibly do to help you remember? I can't do that."

He held her hand with his and squeezed them gently. "You must have meant a lot to me. I'm sure that Alice did too. But, right now, this New Sam you're looking at only trusts one person and that person is you."

"Fine," she said in exasperation after much deliberation, "You can stay here."

"Well," he said, looking down on the carpeted floor beneath his feet, "I'll be staying in a hotel near -"

"Don't be ridiculous," she interrupted, "You can stay with me. Plus, New York is a big place. What if you get lost? Then I'll have a man out there who not only doesn't know where he's going but no recollection of who he is."

"Really?" his eyes lit up as if he were a child, "You'll let me stay here?"

Quinn nodded and gave him a reassuring smile though, deep down inside, she was worried about what will unfold for the two of them. This is unknown territory for the both of them but, perhaps, this was the chance she had been waiting for. To start anew with Sam in her life.

The living room couch, Sam thought, was something he could probably live with for a while. Seeing as he has no job in New York, it was a good thing that Quinn had offered her apartment as his refuge. As he stared at the ceiling, trying to fall asleep, he could not shake the thought of the wedding picture out of his head. The questions that he wanted answered were, for a lack of a better word, rejected by Quinn earlier that evening. She had told him that the stories would have to wait for she feared the thought of overwhelming him with too much information at once.

As he was dozing off to sleep, a sudden glimmer of light from the hall startled and broke off his sleep. He sat up to find Quinn, in her nightgown, walking down the hall. In the dark, all Sam could really see of her was her silhouette. Regardless, he thought of it a pretty sight.

"Oh," she said with a surprised look in her face, "I-I'm sorry. I usually get up in the middle of the night to drink some water."

"It's okay. I can't really fall asleep anyway," he lied.

"Why? What's wrong?" she worriedly asked him, "Are you not comfortable? Do you want me to get you more pillows?"

"No, it's okay. I'm… I'm okay."

"O-Okay."

The silence between the two of them made them feel rather uncomfortable. Not to mention that Quinn felt completely vulnerable as he looked at her with her nightgown on. Sam then sat up, cleared his throat and called her to sit beside him. Though she was hesitant at first, she decided to walk over to the couch where Sam was and sat beside him – making sure to leave a safe distance away from him. Once again, an awkward silence loomed all over the room. "I couldn't sleep because… I was thinking about you," he told her.

"I… I beg your pardon?"

"I meant - Sorry. I meant to say… I was thinking about why you have that picture of me and… and Alice in your apartment. She's not your sister is she?"

"No, she's not."

"So… why do you have it? I mean… if it's not too personal a question to ask."

She looked him straight in the eyes and searched for some sort of recognition from Sam but unfortunately saw no recollection from him. Neither did she know where to start. Thus, she knew that the only way she could respond was to tell him the truth. "It's supposed to help me," Quinn confessed.

"Help… you? How?"

"Before you married her, you told me that you loved me."

Sam's eyes grew larger and listened intently to every word that came out of Quinn's mouth.

"You told me you loved me, but, we couldn't. We couldn't be together. Especially when we found out about Alice's illness. When we found out, we decided to remain friends. Then… Alice passed away and I left you too. I took that wedding picture of you and Alice to remind me that I don't - I can't have you. I made a promise to your wife to keep you safe from harm." The tears began to well up around her eyes as she recalls as much detail as she could. "Then you were involved in an accident and it was all because of me. It was my fault. And this is basically life telling us that we can't… We can't be together, Sam. We can't -"

He held her hand as to stop her from continuing on. "Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" he asked her, "I'm not too sure who this Old Sam was… but the one you're looking at right now - Pretend for a second that this person sitting beside you is a completely different person. I'm not the Sam you fell in love with. He's gone. And, if he does ever come back, that's fine. But, Quinn, this New Sam that you're looking at right now… This Sam is falling in love with you. No matter what the past was like for the two of us."


	17. Chapter 17

**_Hello, everyone. Sorry for the (long) wait. Lots of personal stuff going on. Anyway, I know this chapter isn't very long, but, I'm trying my hardest to continue writing. I don't want this story to end like this. I have a lot more in store for these two._**

**_Like always, I'd also like to thank you all for your patience and reviews. I wholeheartedly appreciate every single one.  
><em>**

**_Enjoy!  
><em>**

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><p>"Don't be ridiculous," Quinn plainly told him as she pulled away from Sam's hold on her hand, "You don't know me, Sam. Literally. How can you possibly fall in love with me in a matter of days? How?"<p>

"I can feel it."

"Then that's not love. So stop saying that! You have no recollection of what happened to us."

In total, Sam had only known Quinn for a week – counting all the times that she had stayed with him at the hospital while he was unconscious. Take that away and he has only known her for two days. And yet he felt the strongest connection to her out of all the "strangers" that he met in the hospital. "Well, I feel like I know you. It's just that... I can't remember anything about you. But if you can help me, in any way, I'd really appreciate that." He took a deep breath in and exhaled as he mentally prepared himself for what was about to ask her. "How did we meet?"

"Seriously?" she asked with a hint of disbelief.

"Yes!"

"We met in high school."

"Good," Sam said as he took out a piece of paper from a neat pile nearby and grabbed a pen as well. He began to draw a line across the page. He made branches and wrote down what Quinn had said on a branch. He had made a timeline. "Okay, what else?"

She couldn't help but smile at how eager he was to know more about their story. "And then... we went out."

Sam shook his head. "You're leaving details. I want details."

Quinn gave Sam an incredulous look. _You're supposed to know these things_, she caught herself saying to Sam in her head. "You transferred to McKinley after your dad was offered a job in Ohio. Finn... the uhh-"

"The jerk from the airport?"

"Yeah," she said with a stammer. Even Finn's name caused her to shudder. "He invited you to join Glee Club."

"I sing?"

She laughed at the surprised look on his face. "You were hesitant at first because you thought that it would affect your popularity, but, in the end, you joined the club. That was the first time I met you."

A smile suddenly flashed in Sam's face. "And then?"

"There's this sort of initiation process that they do in the school. A slushie facial? They did that to you and I happened to be around at that time and -"

"Did they hit you with the slushie too?" he asked with a concerned look on his face.

"... No."

"Good."

"But I have had it happen to me twice before. Just... not during that time."

"Oh... I see."

"Anyway, I helped you out and that sort of... started our friendship."

"What made me fall in love with you?"

His voice was so sincere and curious that Quinn was caught off guard. "I... I don't know. You said I have pretty eyes."

"There must have been some sort of quality you had that I liked. Besides the outside. Because that's a given."

"You sound so different," she pointed out to Sam, "You're usually not so... aggressive."

"Sorry," he replied immediately, "I just want to know as much as I can. How about... you tell me how you fell in love with me instead?"

"I..." Quinn let out a nervous laugh, "This is really strange for me to have to explain to you."

"I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize," she told him as she took a deep breath in, "I think it was because you were so... different. You were clumsy, goofy, geeky and yet so responsible and loving... and caring... and sensitive."

Sam inched closer to Quinn as she began to list all of the traits she liked about him in high school. Just then, he reached out to move a strand of hair from Quinn's face. She paused and looked at him in shock. "I... There was a strand covering your face. Sorry. I had to get it out of the way."

"O-okay."

She looked into his eyes and wondered if she should continue on but his intent gaze on her, frazzled her in some way. Sam reached out to touch her face once again, this time caressing her cheek gently and looking at her as if she were a new discovery to him. As he leaned closer to Quinn, he gave her a look as if to ask her for permission to move even closer. She slightly nodded and, before she knew it, Sam had kissed her lips. His lips were soft on her lips and she had longed for his kiss for quite some time now. Regardless, the feeling still felt strange to her considering that he had no recollection of the past. She moved away from Sam and looked down in embarrassment.

"I shouldn't have done that," he told her quickly, "I'm so sorry."

"Stop apologizing. You're only doing what feels natural."

"So that was okay? That I kissed you like that?"

"You said that I should forget about Old Sam, right? That I should pretend that you're a completely different person?"

Sam could only nod as he listened to her speak.

"That's what I'm going to do then. We're going to live as though you're someone else. Someone that I should get to know a little better. As do you. If your memory comes back, then fine. If it doesn't, we'll continue on with our lives. Deal?"

He smiled at her proposal and nodded his head in approval. "Deal."

"But, one condition," she adds on.

"What is that?"

"No more kissing."

"Deal."

"That means you're going to have to work for this. Make me fall in love with you."


	18. Chapter 18

**As always, I thank you all so much for all the comments. Writing for all of you is so worth it. You all continue to make me a strong writer. But, regardless, I have a long way to go! **

**Also, how do you all like the cover I made for this story? I posted this on Tumblr a few days ago and did not know that FF had this new feature. Anyway, does it look fine? Let me know! :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>The events from the day before were still fresh in Quinn's memory. Though she had initially welcomed the idea, she could not find the strength to step out of her bedroom and walk in to the living room where a man – who she was supposed to know personally – lay asleep on her couch with no memory of her in his life. Thus, in a situation such as this, who should feel like the stranger? How could she possibly help him?<p>

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by the smell of pancakes that suddenly filled her bedroom. In a blink of an eye, Quinn stood up from her bed, opened the door to the hallway and walked towards the aroma that filled her whole apartment. Just as she had thought, in the kitchen, stood Sam – his back facing her. Without making a single sound, she walked towards the countertop and sat on a stool, watching Sam cook breakfast. On the table was a fresh jug of orange juice which she had realized were freshly squeezed seeing as she had not bought any juice for herself. Lots of fruits were cut up into quarters and bite-sized pieces as well as a plate of scrambled eggs and sausages.

As Quinn marvelled at the food in front of her, Sam began to hum a song to himself. Still unaware that he had an audience. Then, as if the words jumped right at him, he began to sing the song out loud. "Now I... had... the time of my life," he sang, "No, I never felt like this before..."

Quinn sat in shock as she heard Sam sing a song that he had sung so many years ago. _Must be hidden in his subconscious. Trying to get out, _she told herself.

"Yes, I swear... It's the truth... and I owe it all to you."

"'Cause I," she caught herself singing right after Sam, causing him to turn around to face her quickly in surprise, "Had... the time of my life. And I owe it all to-"

"I didn't know you were sitting behind me."

"I didn't want you to know I was sitting behind you."

As he caught up with his breath and the rapid beating of his heart, he let out a nervous laugh. "I don't usually sing in front of people."

"But you have. You sang to hundreds of people before."

He smiled at her in a complete daze, caught in the beauty of the person sitting right in front of him. Sam had to shake his head to wake him up from his daydream. "I made you breakfast."

"So I see."

"Actually, us. I made _us _breakfast."

Quinn smiled as he uttered the word. They're together. Finally. However, as if reality were settling in, she reminded herself. _What is going on with me? First I didn't want to come out here to see him and now I'm smiling at him? Get a grip, Q._

As though he could read her thoughts, Sam looked at Quinn with a puzzled look upon his face. "Oh good God. You're vegetarian or something, aren't you?"

She gave him a startled look and began to laugh. "No," she quickly replied, "I'm not vegetarian. I'm just usually... sleepy-looking in the morning."

Once Sam had broken the ice, they began to eat the breakfast he had made in a comfortable state of silence. Enjoying one another's company.

He was left in the apartment by himself after Quinn had gone to work. Though she wished to stay at home, Sam insisted otherwise. If they were to live a relatively normal life, she had to go to work regardless of the circumstances.

Having time to himself was quite an interesting venture. The apartment was so quiet that he feared that, should he make any sudden movements, the whole room might shatter. Regardless, Sam mindlessly entered Quinn's room. When he had noticed that he had entered a possibly forbidden part of the apartment, he could not make himself leave the room. Without any further hesitation, he stepped deeper in to the room and felt the cold floor beneath his feet. _She's so... tidy. How can you live in a please like this, Sam?_ he asked himself nervously.

Sam was now standing beside Quinn's bed. He touched the sheets and noticed the softness of the fabric. _She sleeps on this bed. _He then sat on the bed and looked at the objects that lay on a night stand nearby. There was a picture of Quinn with a couple who Sam believes to be Quinn's parents (due to their resemblance in features). Suddenly, Sam's attention was drawn away from the picture and towards the half-opened drawer in front of him. He slowly inched his hand closer to the drawer's handle and pulled it out slowly. _This is her drawer. I'm going through her private things. This is not right. _As he continued to open the drawer fully, he took a deep breath in and exhaled sharply. There's not turning back now. Whatever it is that he finds inside will never be unseen.

The first thing that Sam finds in the drawer is a small empty box. Though it seemed peculiar to him at first, he immediately realized that the box was a jewelry case. More specifically, a case for a ring. When he opened the box to see if the ring was inside, he was quite disappointed to find nothing in it. Sam's mind immediately thought of some possible answers. Perhaps Quinn was engaged once and had rejected it afterwards. Or perhaps she was married and was now a widower like him. Nevertheless, Sam shook his head as he placed the box down on the drawer and found yet another strange object inside.

There lay an envelope at the very bottom of the drawer with Quinn's name on it. There were no other inscriptions on it besides her name. Once he had pulled it out of the drawer, the belongings that lay on top of the envelope toppled over making a huge clutter on the floor. The envelope, unlike the box, was not empty. The letter was still inside. With shaking hands, he took out the letter from the envelope and read it.

"_My dear friend Quinn, If you are reading this letter at this very moment, that could only mean that I have perished from this world and have left my husband. I only hope that Sam is coping well and, seeing as I have you to look out for him, I know that he is in safe hands."_

"_Now, as I could only imagine, you must be wondering why I have written this letter. You see, Quinn, I wanted to let you know of what I am doing to/ have done to Sam. As it became clear to me that there is no hope for my survival, I have decided to part ways with Sam both physically and emotionally. Knowing my husband, moving on – especially getting over a loss like this – is hard for him. Thus, I thought that it was best that I break his heart while I was living to help him heal faster when I do pass on."_

"_Though this may sound absurd to you, this is the only plausible thing I could really think of to help him forget me. This is also the reason why I did not write him a letter and only made one for you. Like I have mentioned, I know that you are watching over him and helping him through this difficult time. This is why I know he'll be okay. Because he has you. Which brings me to the second reason why I have written this letter. Not only am I disclosing to you of what I have done to Sam, I am also asking you for one last favour."_

"_Quinn, please love him. Love him the way you did before. Love him the way I know you still do. I know, deep within his own heart, he still keeps the memories of you and the feelings that he has for you there. You played such a huge part in his life throughout high school, through his marriage to me and, now, my death, that I can't possibly think of another woman I'd want him to be married to but you."_

"_Please take this into consideration. I know it's hard and quite bizarre, to even think of being with Sam right now, but, in time, I hope that you two will find peace and, most importantly, love in each other's arms. With all my love, Alice."_

As the last words of the letter filled every inch of Sam's mind, the name written on the end of it shocked him to his very core. Though he does not recall any memories of Alice, the thought of holding a letter from a woman who has since passed on terrified him. As his heart began to beat erratically, a piercing sound suddenly engulfed him causing him to drop down to the floor in pain. Helpless and alone, Sam had no other choice but to close his eyes to numb the pain somehow. Instead, he had blacked out into an abyss inside Quinn's room.

The apartment was quiet and still when Quinn arrived home from work. "Sam?" she called out as she placed her purse on the living room sofa. As she continued to walk around her apartment, her heart gradually began to beat quickly as panic began to settle in. "Sam?" she called out with more fervour and fear. Quinn then noticed that her bedroom door was open and, with as much speed as she could, ran towards her room.

She found Sam laying on the floor, almost lifeless so it seemed. The tears ran down her face at the sight of him motionless for it reminded her of the moment that she had seen him at the hospital. Quinn kneeled down beside him and shook him violently, trying to wake him up. "Sam! Don't you dare do this to me again!"

No response.

"Samuel Evans, you wake up right now!" she said as she slapped his face.

His eyes shot open as he stared blankly at her face.

"Sam?"

"Who are you?" he asked her in alarm as he pushed himself away from her and crawled into a corner of the room.

"What do you mean, 'Who are you?' It's me!" she said as tears and sobs escaped every word coming out of her mouth, "Sam, it's me!" She walked closer to him and was about to reach for his face when he pushed her away.

"Get away from me! Get back!"

"Sam!"

After a short scuffle, Quinn finally got hold of Sam and slapped his face again. It was then that he stopped moving about and looked into Quinn's eyes. Fear written all over his face. "Quinn?"

She pushed herself away from him and, as she sat on the floor, she covered her face as she continued to sob. Without any hesitation, Sam crawled to her slowly and placed a hand on her shoulder. Quinn looked up to find him looking back at her with a worried expression on his face.

"W-What happened?"

"I don't know. You... I found you here passed out on the floor and, when I woke you up, you didn't recognize me."

"I... I don't remember doing that."

"You looked at me as if I were going to hurt you, Sam."

He sat beside her now and held her hand. "Quinn, believe me, I know that you would never hurt me."

Just then, she noticed a piece of paper on the floor a few feet away from where she was sitting with Sam. A pang of alarm filled her as she stared at it.

"I read it."

"You did?" she looked at him as if she was trying to read his thoughts.

"And I know what you're thinking. But the answer is 'no.'"

"No?"

"I still don't remember anything."

She looked down on her feet, "Oh. I see..."

He then stood up and offered his hand to help Quinn up from the floor. They then spent the rest of their evening separately as they reflected on what had happened that night.

The very next day, Sam decided to get out of the apartment for the day and visited a nearby health clinic. Upon arriving, he had told the doctor of his condition and the episode he had had the night before.

"Well, it's quite normal for a person of your case to have lapses like this. Because of the trauma from your car accident," the doctor explained to him clearly.

"So it's going to happen again?"

"Not necessarily. Most patients never have to go through it again. It's more of an after-shock, really."

"And how about the ones that are an exception to that?"

"They continue living with the lapses. But they come back."

"To what?"

"To the present."

"Do you think I'll ever get my memory back?"

"There are some cases of amnesia where the patient never gets their memory back, I'm afraid."

Sam simply nodded. His heart crushed at the thought of never recalling any memory of his life back. He desperately wanted to remember what it was like to be with Quinn and, unfortunately, his body would not let him.

Frustrated and defeated, he left the clinic and walked along the busy streets of New York by himself.


	19. Chapter 19

**You have all been waiting patiently and, as promised, here's the new chapter.** **And, as I had promised as well, this is lighter than the dark stuff I've been doing to these two for the last couple of chapters lol.**

**As always, thank you for all your reviews! It brings a smile to my face.**

**Enjoy! **

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><p>Quinn sat at the kitchen stool waiting for Sam to return from his appointment at the medical clinic. Though she wanted to go with Sam, he insisted on going by himself, which she respectfully understood. It was, however, the wait that made her nervous and anxious.<p>

As soon as the front door swung open, Quinn felt a surge of relief. He hadn't left the city as she fearfully thought he might. But the sad look upon his face worried her. "W-What happened?" she asked Sam as he sat on a stool beside her, trying to read his mind somehow.

Sam took a deep breath in and looked into her eyes as if he were searching for an answer in them. "Well, I was just told of what I was afraid of."

"Which is what exactly?"

"That I may never get my memory back," he told her as he held back his own tears.

Quinn reached for his hands and clasped them with hers. She sympathized him and his condition. If it were her in his position, she might have given up already. _Now is not the time to be weak_, she told herself, _I have to help him through this. _"Look, it's not going to be easy," she told him, "It's going to take a lot of time and, if you don't remember anything, who cares? You'll make new memories. One that you'll keep for good."

"Until I get into another accident."

"Hey! Don't say that," she interjected, slapping his arm in annoyance, "Anyway, it's... 5 in the afternoon. We have time."

He looked at her with a confused look on his face. "Time for what?"

"You'll see," she told him with a smile that brought further confusion and worry to Sam.

They were strolling along a narrow street. People were walking from left to right and Sam apologized repeatedly as he clumsily bumped into every single one of them. Like a lost puppy, he hurried off to catch up to Quinn who was already standing in front of a building. As he finally caught up with her, Sam took a deep breath in and examined the location they were in. He looked for a sign, anything that would give off any clue to where they were. "Are you ready to have some fun for once?" she asked him with a smile. Sam raised an eyebrow at her but joined in with a smile of his own. She was beautiful to him. Her smile suddenly brightened up his dull day.

As they entered the building, Quinn led Sam to the elevator. They stepped into the elevator cabin and stood in silence as they waited for the doors to close. "So you're not going to tell me where we're going, huh?"

"Nope," she replied with a laugh, "It wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you now, would it?"

Once the elevator door slid open, Sam and Quinn were welcomed with a huge sign on top of a large doorway. "Colour Me Mine?" he read aloud and his face lit up, "We're at a Colour Me Mine in the middle of Tribeca? This is awesome!"

Quinn smiled at the sight of the delighted look upon Sam's face. Since his accident, they have not had a good laugh or a smile. Only darkness and pain. This was a change for the two of them. "I thought it would cheer you up. A little fun for once."

"Thank you," he sincerely told her, "How did you know I like this place? Did my mom tell you? She did, didn't she?"

"Actually... No."

"No?"

"Well... when we were in high school... you asked me if I were interested in going to Colour Me Mine with you."

He laughed incredulously. "So I guess you liked your first visit then?" he asked with a wider smile.

"No."

"What?"

"We never went."

"Why?" Sam's face grew pale and saddened by her revelation.

"It... It doesn't matter. We just didn't end up going. That's all. Besides, remember what I told you? It's time to make new memories. Okay?"

He hesitantly agreed and nodded. Quinn quickly grabbed hold of Sam's hand and pulled him inside the shop.

After they have been oriented by a staff, they chose to paint a large vase together and sat down at a table with their paintbrushes and paint. "It's going to take us hours to finish this off," he reminded her, "Might as well share some stories with me, Quinn."

She began to paint one side of the vase as she thought of what she should tell him first. "You'll have to ask me questions then. Otherwise, I wouldn't know where to start."

Sam picked up a brush, dipped it on paint and started painting the opposite side of the vase. "Okay, fine. Hmmm..." he said as he thought of a simple question before attempting to ask the harder, more complicated ones. Questions that he really wanted answers to. "How about... What should I call you?"

"Call me?"

"Yeah, like a nickname or something."

"Q."

"What?"

"Q."

"That's it?"

She laughed at the surprised tone to Sam's voice. "Yes! That's it."

"Wow... Do you have a middle name?"

"That's my middle name."

"You're weird," he told her directly without a second thought, "I'm sorry, but, you are. So you prefer being called by your middle name instead of your first?" She nodded shyly at him – the first time he's seen that side to her. "I bet your first name sounds just as beautiful as your middle name."

"I bet you that it doesn't."

"Then say it."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"It's Lucy."

Sam looked her right in the eyes and smiled. _Lucy, _he told himself, _it has a ring to it. _"I like it," he announced, "You look like a Lucy."

"I beg to differ," she plainly told him.

"Why's that?"

"Because Lucy was an overweight, unpopular, dorky nerd."

"Those things don't matter as you age."

"No?"

"What matters is the person inside of you."

She smiled back at Sam and thought of how different her life might have been if he had come into her life when she was still Lucy. Would she have been bullied all those years? Would she have had a saviour in Sam? "Alright. You now."

"Me? I don't even remember what happened in high school and you're asking me something?"

"I'm sure you know your name, Sam."

"Oh, that!" he laughed loudly and suddenly noticed an older couple from across the room looking at him in annoyance. Thus, Sam lowered his voice down, "Well, my first name is Samuel... Q."

"I know that. But you have a middle name, right?"

"Yes, I do, ma'am."

"What is it?"

"You mean you don't know?"

"I don't! I swear!"

"How long were we together exactly? Why don't you know?"

"I never asked. Now I want to know."

"If it kills you to find out, I'll have you know that it's James."

"James?" she says with a slight giggle.

"What?"

"So you're Samuel James Evans?"

"Yeah."

"That name sounds like a very old man, Mr. Samuel James Evans."

"Sure, it is, Ms. Lucy Quinn Fabray. But I'm also 100% sure that I wouldn't be as old as the man that's giving us the evil eye right about now." Slowly, Quinn looked behind her and found the old couple looking at them with disdain. Just then, Quinn quickly looked back at Sam and covered her mouth – with her paintbrush in hand – before her laughter echoed around the shop. Sam then noticed the paint mark on Quinn's cheek. "Uhh... Q?"

"Yeah?" she said finally calming herself down enough to look Sam straight in the eyes.

"You, uhh..." he motioned by pointing at her cheek but she failed to understand. Sam grabbed a towel nearby, dipped it in some water and reached for Quinn's cheek. "You have paint on your face."

"Oh," she said coyly as she watched him caress her cheek softly. Gently. As if she were a canvas. He watched his hands as he carefully washed the paint off of her face. Thinking that he might as well be the luckiest man in the world to have a woman like Lucy Quinn Fabray and how she made his day by bringing him to the one place that he enjoyed the most.

"Why did we break up?" he asked her then as he finished cleaning off the very last marks on Quinn's face. "I mean... what happened? It seems like we're a match. We're... we're perfect together." As Quinn looked at Sam, she remembered the pain he had caused her the day she cheated on him. Would it be wise for her to tell him of it now? What sense would it be to tell him now anyway? "Quinn? Please? Tell me."

"I... I cheated on you with Finn."


	20. Chapter 20

**It has been wayyyyy too long since I've updated this fic, but, I think I may have some good news for you guys (or maybe it's bad, I don't know lol). The next chapter after this would be the conclusion of this fic.**

**For weeks now, I've been trying to map out where else I could take this story, but, unfortunately, I couldn't come up with anything. I think it's about time that I end it to make way for another fic that I am going to start writing. **

**I will post the final chapter tomorrow. **

**As always, thank you! Thank you for reading my work with all its imperfections. I appreciate all of your reviews and support. I've worked on this fic the longest thus far and I'm quite proud of this one.**

**Ayway, enjoy!**

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><p>"Finn," he echoed back with disdain, "Finn Hudson. As in the guy at the airport? The one you were running away from?" Sam stood up from his seat as he looked down on Quinn with his eyes full of hurt and confusion.<p>

Speechless, Quinn stood up from her seat and tried to calm Sam down. The last thing she wanted to do was cause a scene in a public place. Nor did she want Sam to remember that specific part of their past and create an impression on him that she was an unfaithful person. As she reached out for his hand, Sam backed away from her, turned and left the store. Quinn followed behind him as he entered the elevator. Fortunately enough, she caught up with him and made it to the elevator safely as well.

Sam pushed the button on the elevator as the door closed. They stood in silence as the elevator began to descend. Quinn looked at him and noticed that Sam's hands were shaking and that tears were beginning to well up around his eyes. "Sam, let me explain," she reasoned with him.

"I have nothing left to say to you."

"Please..." she pleaded as she held his hand, which he quickly pulled away from. Frustrated, Quinn walked towards the elevator panel and stopped the elevator from descending.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Sam shouted out loud in rage.

Quinn quickly covered the panel with her body as she stopped Sam from getting a hold of the elevator buttons. "I'm not going to move away from this spot until you listen to me."

"I'm not playing this game with you," he warned, "Now, please move out of the way."

"No!"

"Move out of the way!" he shouted aggressively, which made Quinn flinch. She had never seen this side to him since the day she came back to Lima for Rachel and Puck's wedding.

Scared and slightly upset, Quinn moved out of the way. Sam quickly pressed the elevator button but there was no response. He tried once again with more vigor and failed to get the elevator moving. He looked at Quinn in a slight panic. "What? What's going on?" she asked him nervously.

"It won't work," he told her, "I... We're stuck."

It has been at least an hour now since Quinn and Sam had been sitting on the elevator floor. They thought that someone would have noticed by now that the elevators were not working. Unbeknownst to them, the buildings caretaker had just placed a sign on each floor indicating that the elevators have been shut down for maintenance due early tomorrow morning. He had left for the day.

They had been sitting in silence. Sam was trying hard to ignore Quinn and Quinn was trying not to care. No matter how hard they tried, their eyes would meet and glance at one another with a glare.

"That's it," Quinn finally said with an exasperated voice, "I'm sorry."

"You're what?"

"Sorry. Alright? I'm sorry," she half-heartedly told Sam.

"Not good enough."

"What else do you want? I apologized before. You knew about this. And then you went ahead and forgot everything about us. About me. So whose fault is that?!" she said reluctantly, wishing she had not said a word. Her frustration towards their situation had reached a boiling point. He stared at her incredulously. "I-I'm sorry," she apologized, "I didn't mean that. The accident wasn't your fault."

"No, you're right. Actually, I don't even remember that happening, so... I shouldn't be this upset. But I am," he explained as he took a deep breath in, "It's just that... I really want to give us a try. And then I find out that you were with Finn and... I guess I just thought that... you only loved me then."

Quinn sat beside Sam and held his hand. "I wasn't thinking then. He... He has a way of making you question yourself and to let yourself give in to his every beck and call. My mind was clouded. You know, when I left for New York after graduation, all I could think about was you. The pain I had caused you. So, if I have to, I'll apologize for what I've done to you a million times over. I promise you."

Sam smiled at the sincerity in Quinn's apology. "Thank you. For having enough courage to reveal something like that to me... again," he said with a light chuckle, "I appreciate that."

"I vow to be honest with you for as long as I live, Sam."

"In that case, I want to apologize to you for how I reacted. That was stupid and immature."

"No need to apologize," she told him with a smile.

"There's still something that's really bothering me about Finn though."

"What is it?"

"Why do you look so scared whenever he's around?"

Quinn hesitated before gathering enough courage to reply. She took a deep breath in and exhaled, "One night, he - It was before I left for New York. Finn asked if we could talk privately - and he was still with Rachel then."

"Rachel?!" Sam interrupted with a shocked look upon his face, "She dated him too?! He... He got around, didn't he?"

"Yeah, well, like I said... It was just the two of us at my mom's backyard and he... He made a move on me."

"Did he hurt you?"

"No. But I didn't feel comfortable and I wasn't happy with him making a move on me when he was clearly with another girl. I felt... I felt terrible cheating on you with him and I promised myself that I would never do it again. And there he was again... trying to pull me back in. I hated myself."

"It's not your fault," he said reassuringly, "I don't know much about Finn, but, he's manipulative and selfish. I... Quinn, I would never do anything to hurt you." A smile slowly flashed across Quinn's face. "What?" he asked her with a slight laugh, "Why are you smiling?"

"Because you've told me that before, Samuel James Evans."

"And I'll never get tired of reminding you that, Lucy Quinn Fabray."

Another couple of hours had passed by. They had been busy singing songs and sharing stories from their childhood that time seemed to have frozen still. They were fortunate enough to have each other for company.

As they spoke of their past, the conversation shifted towards the future. "I don't know what my plans were before the accident," Sam told Quinn, "But for some odd reason, I just want to have a family now. Just two children. Maybe more. I don't know."

"More?!," she echoed back with a laugh, "I hope your future wife is up for that. You know, women are not miracle workers. Men have to do just as much work as women do at home."

"I know," he simply stated, "My father was a great role model of that. He was a provider, alright, but he also shows his children just how much he loves every single one of us."

"Must be nice having a family like that."

"What do you mean?"

"My father left when..." the words she wanted to tell him were suddenly stuck. _Oh no_, she told herself, _Another secret to reveal in one day?_

"Well -"

"Q, just tell me. I won't judge you, I swear."

Remembering how understanding Sam was the first time he had learned of Quinn's past, she had decided to tell him her mistakes once again. "I had a child."

"Had?"

"I was with Puck and -"

"Puck. As in Noah Puckerman?"

"Yes."

Sam simply stared at Quinn, frozen. Unable to speak. Quinn, on the other hand, decided to look at her own feet.

"I know. We were all pretty messed up."

"Okay, so, you slept with Puck."

"Yes..."

"And you ended up being pregnant but had to give your child away."

"Yes, to Rachel's birth mother."

"WHAT?!"

Quinn stared at Sam now with an alarmed look on her face. She had said way too much. Sam could not possibly retain this much information. Just then, a roar of laughter escaped his mouth. "W-Why are you laughing?" she asked him.

"It's just so strange how you're all connected in some way. You do realize that you and Rachel and Puck are like a family though, right?" he told her. She laughed with him then. Realizing what a roller coaster of a life she has had thus far. _Something I could tell my grandchildren one day, _she noted. "Well, when I have a family, there won't be any of that," Sam told Quinn.

"How are you so sure?"

"Because I'll make sure of it. And you won't have to struggle anymore."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you."

They slept easily that night in the cramped elevator. Sam had his arms around Quinn for warmth who was comfortably snuggled against him. The world had singled them out once again. Just the two of them. And it felt right.

By the time they had woken up from their deep slumber, a figure of a man was standing right in front of them. As Sam rubbed his eyes, he realized that the man must be some sort of janitor or maintenance personnel. He gently woke Quinn up from her sleep and quickly sprung awake at the sight of the man in front of them as well.

"Good morning," Sam greeted sleepily to the man looking at them with a mortified look on his face.

"I-I checked all of the elevators before closing it down," the man told the two, "There were no passengers."

***

They got home safely, had breakfast and laughed off the whirlwind of a night that they had. Who would have thought that a single night in an elevator would set things right between them and help Quinn open up to Sam?

As Sam cleaned up the counter after breakfast, Quinn walked over to the telephone and noticed the red light flashing on the base of the phone. There was a message for her. But from who? She pressed the button quickly. "You have," the electronic voicemail announced, "one new voice message. Recorded yesterday at 9 p.m."

"Q," the familiar voice hurriedly said. It was Puck's voice. "Q, I-I don't know where you are but I need you to pick up the phone. Q?!" Sam turned around to face Quinn who was standing over the phone with a worried look on her face. "It's Rachel. She's not due until next week but she collapsed, Q and I- Her dads are here. My mom's here. The Glee guys are here. But I just really need you here. So, please, once you get this message, I want you to -"

The message had cut off and, like a bullet, Quinn quickly dashed towards her bedroom to pack. "I'm coming with you," Sam said as he followed her to her bedroom.

"Good," she said as she continued to pack hurriedly, "I'm gonna need you too."


	21. Chapter 21

**Here it is! The last chapter of TOTGA! **

**Once again, thank you all soooo much for sticking around and reading this story. **

**I'll be posting my new fic in the next couple of days, so, keep an eye out for it (if you want lol).**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Nervousness has succumbed Quinn's body as she sat beside Sam on the plane back to Ohio. No matter how hard she tried, she could not stop herself from shuffling her feet back and forth. Just then, sensing her anxiousness, Sam reached over to her and placed his hand on her's. "Are you okay?" he asked her worriedly.<p>

"Honestly?" she replied as she kept her eyes on the seat in front of her, voice shaking, "No, I'm not. This is the worst thing I've ever felt in my life. I can't feel my face. And I most definitely can't believe that I've forgotten about my best friend when she clearly needed me."

"I'm sure she'll understand, Q. Plus, you didn't know that she was going to deliver her baby this early. I don't think she did either."

"What if she's in a really grave condition? What then? Puck will blame me for not being there to help him out. I won't have the chance to see her or -"

"Quinn," he told her with a soft voice, "Relax. Everything will be fine, okay? Just take a few deep breaths. We'll get there in time. We'll find out what's going on and she'll have her baby. Alright?"

She took a deep breath in and exhaled. Once she had given herself enough strength, she looked into Sam's eyes and her heart melted again. _It's like the Old Sam's coming back, _she told herself."Thank you," she told him with a slight smile, "You have no idea how grateful I am that you're here." He smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead. She smiled back at him this time with a lot more sincerity. The anxiousness in her body was slowly disappearing. "I should... probably get myself together before we land," Quinn told him as she stood up from her seat and made her way towards the bathroom cabin on the plane.

The bathroom was occupied when she had reached it. Choosing not to return to her seat and wait, Quinn stood quietly at the hall. A few seconds later, the door had swung open slowly and a familiar face appeared in front of her.

"Oh!" the old woman remarked with a laugh, "It's you again!"

"I've bumped into you more this year than anyone I know back in Lima or New York," Quinn informed the woman with a smile.

"I bet you're getting tired of that happening, huh?"

"No, not at all, ma'am."

"Are you traveling alone?"

Quinn quickly glanced back at her seat and found Sam looking back at her with a smile. She then looked at the woman and said, "I got him back. The one that got away? He's here with me now." At the mere mention of it, she felt tears of joy circling around her eyes. After all that she had been through with Sam, they were finally together again.

The woman smiled upon hearing Quinn's news. "I'm happy for you, dear," she told Quinn, "Don't ever... let him go anymore. Alright?"

"I won't," she promised the woman, "I won't let him out of my sight."

Sam and Quinn did not waste any time. After they had arrived at the airport, they quickly made their way to the hospital.

They both immediately noticed the eery silence around them when they entered the hospital floor. There was a nurse sitting at the station taking a call but there were no doctors or other nurses in sight. However, Sam noticed a group of people watching him as he passed by the waiting area. He even heard one of them call his name but paid no attention to it as he was following Quinn towards Puck who stood in front of an emergency room.

"Quinn," Puck called out from the empty hall. His voice worn out and cracked. He was trying to hold it together she noticed. He then noticed Sam following promptly behind Quinn. "Sam," Puck greeted him with a hug, which did not seem to bother Sam at all. "I'm so glad to see you two. I... I honestly don't know what to do. And I can't -"

"It's okay," Quinn said as she gave Puck a tight hug as well, "Where is she, Puck? What's going on?"

"She's in there now," he replied as he pointed at the closed room, "I-I don't know what happened. She passed out yesterday after we went out for dinner and she said that she felt sick. I haven't heard back from the doctor yet. And I don't know what's going on with our baby. I don't know what's going on at all." Tears began to well around his eyes as Quinn held his hand. Puck then looked at Sam with a frightened and worried expression on his face.

Clearing his throat, Sam took a step closer to Puck and laid a hand on Puck's shoulder. "You'll get through this... Puck," he called out his name with a slight hesitation, unsure of what his friendship was like with him in the past, "And so will Rachel. And so will your baby, alright?"

Puck nodded in agreement and had let out the tears that have waited to pour out of him. All of the frustration, anxiety and worry. All at once.

Waiting felt like an eternity. Not knowing of what was happening inside the emergency room was torture. As Quinn and Sam joined the group in the waiting room, they took the opportunity to re-introduce themselves to Sam. They took turns mentioning their names to him and each one of them – as Sam realized – had a worried but warm look in their eyes. They all knew of the person sitting in front of them and yet that one person knew nothing of them.

"I can't believe you're here, Sam. Last we heard of you from Puck and Rachel, you fled to go find Quinn," Tina told him.

"I had to find her," he simply replied.

"Sounds like the Old Sam to me," Mike said with a smile as he wrapped his arm around Tina.

"You seriously don't remember anything?" Mercedes asked him curiously, "I mean, you don't even remember Quinn?"

Sam looked at Quinn who was sitting right next to him. He gave her a faint smile and then looked at Mercedes. "If I had another chance at this whole amnesia thing, 'Cedes, I would have chosen to forget everything else except Quinn."

"Don't say that," Quinn interjected.

"Oh calm yourself, Barbie," Santana rebutted with a blunt and firm voice, "Trouty Mouth here is just being romantic to you. So just take it as it is."

Suddenly, Sam felt a jolt inside his brain. _Trouty Mouth?_ he asked himself, _Did she just call me- _"I resent that," he told Santana as he looked right at her.

"What?" she asked him. A little offended.

"You calling me that," he explained, "I didn't like it then in high school. And I don't like it now. It gives me the creeps. Makes me sound like some kind of fish. Which, for the record -"

"Sam," Quinn interrupted as she placed her hand on his knee as if to stop him from speaking.

"No, Q, let me explain myself," he continued on, "Not all sea creatures have fat lips or wide mouths or-"

"Listen to me," Quinn interjected again, "You remember something."

Not realizing what he had just been told, he continued to speak, "Some creatures have thin lips. What are you going to call them, San? Reject Trouty -" Sam looked at Quinn in a panic. "Oh God," he said out loud, finally catching on, " I remember something!"

"You're welcome," Santana added as Brittany placed her head on Santana's shoulder.

Sam stood up from his seat and beamed a huge smile at Santana and then Quinn. "I remember... something!" he announced with an incredulous laugh.

Quinn stood up and hugged Sam. "That's great! What else do you remember?" she asked him.

"I remember..." he said, repeating himself once again. Suddenly, everything in the room began to spin around him. His head felt lighter and the image of Quinn in front of him was a blur. "I... I... I feel..." he continued to speak with a slur as he fell on the floor. Everything went black.

Sam opened his eyes to find himself looking up at the ceiling of what was probably a hospital room. As he slowly tried to sit up, a hand gently pushed him back down to his bed. "Relax," the voice told him. He shook his head, rubbed his eyes and opened them quickly to find Quinn sitting beside him. "Hey," she greeted him with a slight smile, her voice not trying very hard to hide her worries, "How are you feeling?"

"Dizzy," he simply answered.

"The doctor said you might be. He said you must have over-excited yourself with your breakthrough earlier."

"Well, I remembered something. Who wouldn't be excited?"

"I know, but... Do you remember anything else?" she asked.

As he looked into her eyes, he saw a glimpse of her hoping for a miracle. He sighed with a heavy burden in his chest and said, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said with a smile as warm as the sun.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For understanding my situation," he simply stated.

She smiled at him again and kissed him on his forehead. "I made a promise to myself," she told him.

"What's that?"

"That, from now on," she said as she kissed the tip of his nose, "I'm never letting you out of my sight, Mr. Evans."

"You won't?"

"Yes," she said as she kissed the tip of his nose again with a giggle, "We're going to work this out. Life's too short. I know who you are and there's no need for us to start from the first phase again just because you've forgotten me. Or us. As long as you'll have me, we'll have the rest of our lives together for you to know more about me."

He smiled at her. His heart began to beat quickly. "The rest of our lives," he echoed back.

"If you'll have me."

"Of course I will. You know I will."

She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. As she pulled away from him, he swiftly pulled her back and kissed her again. Tears of joy flowing down Quinn's eyes, which Sam quickly wiped away as he continued to kiss her.

"Quinn!" Artie shouted as he entered the room in his wheelchair. He stopped abruptly as he saw the scene unfolding in front of him. "Oh sorry," he apologized.

"It's okay," Quinn told Artie, "What's going on?"

"It's Rachel," he told her, "The doctor went ahead with the delivery."

"And?"

"They're delivering the baby as we speak."

With all of his might, Sam sat up and pushed himself out of his bed. He stood, feet wobbling a bit, as he walked towards Artie.

"Where are you going?" Quinn asked as she stood up from her seat and walked towards Sam, "Get back here."

"I don't know about you," he told Quinn, "But I don't want to miss our friends' first baby being welcomed into this world."

It was a touch and go delivery. Puck and the others were not sure of the condition of his first born child or Rachel's condition. Regardless, after 2 hours, Puck and Rachel's first born baby girl was born prematurely.

As he entered the delivery room, Puck was welcomed into the room by being handed his child. "How is she?" he asked the doctor.

"She's a week early, but, she'll be fine," the doctor told him, "We'll do some more tests later on. But I assure you, Puck, she's well."

Puck thanked the doctor and made his way to Rachel (who was still lying down) with their baby in hand. "Babe," he called out to her.

Rachel opened her eyes slowly and looked at Puck and then the baby. She smiled at the sight in front of him. "Our baby," she said with a groggy voice. Exhausted from the long delivery.

The door swung open as their group of friends entered the room as well. Rachel smiled upon seeing all of her friends. However, two of her friends in particular caught her eye. "Q! Sam!" she called out, motioning for the two to come closer to her.

"Hey," Quinn greeted with a shaky voice. She was glad that Rachel was safe from harm and that she had delivered the baby successfully. Quinn could not help but cry for joy. "How are you feeling?" she asked Rachel, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am," Rachel replied, "But, for the record, giving birth is not an easy task, Q. So kudos to you for delivering a baby at a young age."

Sam laughed at Rachel's statement and held Quinn's hand. "Does that mean we won't have any children then?" he asked Quinn.

"We'll... talk about that later," she replied with a laugh.

Rachel reached out her hand for Sam and he quickly held her hand as well. "I'm so happy to see you here, stranger," Rachel told Sam, "How are you?"

"Well, I'm here," he started off, "I don't remember much of anything, but, seeing all of you here and, being here with Quinn, I feel like I'm finally home."

She nodded in agreement and smiled. "The whole Glee club is back in Ohio!" she announced excitedly as everyone in the room then cheered together, "I love you guys so much!"

The excitement and joy continued to buzz all over the hospital room. Old friends were chatting amongst one another, catching up and sharing their experiences thus far. As Quinn chattered with Santana and Brittany, Sam approached them and held Quinn's hand. "Excuse me, ladies," he curtly said, "May I steal Quinn for a little while?" Santana and Brittany both nodded with a smile as Sam led Quinn out of the room and into the back exit of the hospital.

They entered a small garden at the back of the hospital for patients. It was empty that afternoon. The sun shone through the trees, which gave off enough light around them that it did not burn to the touch. Quinn walked towards the flowers in front of them as Sam looked on. Standing back and taking in the scenery in front of him. They were alone again. Time had frozen and it seemed as though nothing else existed outside of the garden.

"Why are we here?" she asked him with a playful but curious tone to her voice.

He took a deep breath and released a deep sigh. "Because it's quiet here," he simply stated with a smile.

"Okay..." she said as she stepped closer to Sam, "And?"

Sam held her hands again and walked her over to a bench sitting in the middle of the garden. He motioned for her to sit down. Hesitantly, she sat down and gave him a puzzled look. Suddenly, Sam knelt down on one knee.

"Oh my God!" she shouted as she knew what he was about to do.

"Wait," he said with a laugh, "Don't say that. You're making me nervous now."

"I'm sorry," she apologized with a laugh as well, "Okay. I'm fine. Go on."

"Okay," he started, "Back in New York, I was... looking through your things. And -"

"I don't think it should start like that. It makes it sound like you're a thief."

"Can I finish?" he asked as he laughed nervously.

"Sorry. I'll let you talk now. I'll stop."

He smiled back at her. The grin on his face was wide as he could feel the adrenaline inside his body kicking in. His heart beating fast from nervousness. "Anyway, before I blanked out, I found something in your night stand. And I didn't know who it was from at first but then I realized that... maybe it was from me."

"Quinn," he continued, "I may have forgotten a lot of things between the two of us, but, I know myself enough to know that, when you meet someone incredible and brilliant and beautiful, you keep them. You never let them go." He reached inside his pocket and took out a small box which looked familiar to Quinn. He gave a nervous laugh again as he saw the surprised look on Quinn's face. "I want to be the one that you see first thing in the morning laying right next to you. I want to be the one that provides for you. I want be the father of your children. _Our_ future children."

"I promise to always show you that I love you and say that I love you every single waking moment that we have. I want to grow old with you. See all of our children grow and have families of their own. I want them to look back in their lives and say, 'I want a marriage and life just like mom and dad.'"

"So, Lucy Quinn Fabray," he announced, "Will you... spend the rest of your life with me?" Sam then opened the box. It was empty, just as Quinn had left it in her night stand. She looked at Sam with a smile. "I found the box like this. But, once everything has settled down and I get my job back, I can get you a ring and -"

"There's no need, Sam," she told him as she reached for neck and revealed a necklace with a ring on it, "You're right. The box, and the content inside it, was from you. And I kept it. And I've worn it every single day that we were apart. Hoping that you would come back to me. So, yes, Samuel James Evans, I will marry you."

He quickly stood up then, sat beside Quinn and kissed her passionately. The sense of longing still present within himself and her. So much so that she could feel it as his lips touched her own. At that very moment, they knew that their story did not end there. It was just beginning.

* * *

><p><em><strong>How was it?! In case any of you were wondering, as far as I know, some people with cases of amnesia never regain any of their memory back, so, I've decided to leave Sam that way. Life is not perfect and I much prefer Sam and Quinn's story to be imperfect as well. <strong>_

_**Again, thank you all so much! :)  
><strong>_


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